
Class Q._U .':>'»? 

Book^AlMf„, 



BUZ 



OR 



The Life and Adventures of a 
Honey Bee 



BV 



MAURICE NOEL 




O 3 -, » O « 



NEW YORK 
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
1898 



•A i^V.':/ 




.0U 



• • •-• ' 




PREFACE. 



N this little story, the author 
ventures to hope that he may 
succeed in interesting children 
— perhaps even some big chil 
dren — in the habits of bees, 
and in inducing them to study 
for themselves their most 
wonderful lives. 

He has attempted to describe 
a few only of the many opera- 
tions -with which all bee-keep- 
ers of the present day are 
perfectly familiar, and has not introduced any 
mention of the bar-framed hives, which make the 
manipulation of bees comparatively simple. 
/ His object has been to awaken interest rather 




// 



vi Preface, 

than to attempt instruction ;] but, at the same time, 
except for such parts of it as are obviously imagin- 
ary, his story describes nothing that he has not wit- 
nessed in his own hives. 
[ In case any of his readers should wish for practical 
information on the subject, he may mention that a 
little book, called Modern Bee-keeping, has been pub- 
lished for the *^ British Bee-keepers' Association," 
and contains the collective experience of the best 
bee-keepers in the country. 





CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 



Page. 



Coming Out 



CHAPTER II. 
First Flights — Narrow Escape . . .16 

CHAPTER III. 
Dispute with a Peacock Butterfly— The Snail 

SETTLES it . . . . -34 

CHAPTER IV. 
Swarming . . . . . .49 

CHAPTER V. 

Building Comb— An Accident— Storing Honey— 

A Surprise . . . . . . 65 



viii. Contents, 



Page. 

CHAPTER VI. 

A Second Swarm— Idle Hours— Sent Back . 78 

CHAPTER VII. 

Discontented Whispers — A Stormy Dispute — The 

Massacre of the Drones . . .92 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Death of Hum — Robbery — Restitution . . loi 

CHAPTER IX. 
Caught in A Cobweb— The Spider's Plan . .115 

CHAPTER X. 
Battle— Victory— Death . . . .126 




BUZ. 



CHAPTER I. 

COMING OUT. 



HE first thing Buz remem- 
bered was having the cramp 
very badly in two of her 
left legs, and not being 
able to stretch them ; for 
she was so carefully packed 
up in her cell that it was 
impossible to move. 

But she found there was a 
chance of getting through 
the ceiling ; so she bit and 

pushed, and pushed and bit, till she could put her 

head out. 




2 Buz. 

This was satisfactory, as far as it went, but it had 
its inconveniences. 

A bee immediately ran across her face, and she 
shrank back. She put it out again, and two bees, in 
a desperate hurry, trod all over it, and she shrank 
back again. 

And so for some time she kept on trying to 
emerge and being driven back, till at last, becoming 
accustomed to the manners of the hive, and taking 
no notice of the pushes and shoves, she scrambled 
out, and stood on the comb — a very promising 
young bee. 

Then up ran a couple of bees, one of whom 
straightened out her proboscis, or tongue, which was 
lying folded back, and offered her honey; while 
the other caressed her with her antennae, and stroked 
her with her fore feet. 

'' Much obliged to you, I'm sure,'* said Buz, suck- 
ing away. 

^^ Stretch your wings and legs, and never mind 
thanking us,*' answered one of the bees. 

** We all do our duty here," said the other, ** with- 
out wanting thanks. We attend to you because it's 
our place to do it." 

*' You didn't help me to scramble out of the cell," 
remarked Buz ; *' and what a scramble it was ! " 



Coming Out, 3 



" It's not our place to do that. A bee that couldn't 
get out of her cell would be no good here/* 

At this moment, a young bee, from the cell next 
to that which Buz had just left, came out, very 
crumpled, and received similar attentions. 

Buz looked on with much interest, while the new 
arrival, who was named ^* Hum," was groomed and 
fed. 

" Now,'* said one of the nurse bees, " you two had 
better go out on the board in front of the hive, and 
sun yourselves. You won't work to-day, of course, 
nor to-morrow either, unless it's very fine ; and don't 
forget," added she, touching first one and then the 
other with her antennae, "" that you are called * Buz,' 
and you ' Hum.' Now be off with you." 

" But which is the way to the board ? " asked 
Buz. " Find out," replied the nurse who had last 
spoken, as she ran off. ''Where's your instinct?" 
demanded the other, hurrying after her without 
waiting for an answer. 

On being left to themselves. Buz and Hum began 
crawling down the comb, looking about them with 
great curiosity. The cells they had just left, were 
at the top of one of the center combs, and on their 
way down they did not meet with very many bees ; 
for as the day was warm and bright, most of them 



4 Bmz. 

were away from the hive, gathering honey and pol- 
len ; but, as they approached the entrance, they 
found themselves surrounded by streams of busy 
workers, hurrying in every direction, some bringing 
in stores, and others, who had just deposited their 
last loads, bustling off to work again. But, however 
busy they might be, they all found time to touch 
Buz and Hum with their antennae as they passed ; 
and these last, instinctively put their own forward 
and returned the compliment ; indeed, they felt as 
if it would not be comfortable to pass within touch- 
ing distance of a single bee without that little recog- 
nition ; it seemed like saying '' All's well.'* 

Arrived on the floor of the hive, they stood still 
and looked about them. After a little time they 
noticed that the two combs between which they had 
just descended, looked rather darker and dirtier than 
those on the outside, and that it was toward the lat- 
ter that the honey-laden bees were hastening. 

*^ I wonder why?'' said Buz. 

"Yes, I wonder," echoed Hum. 

" What are you wondering about ? " inquired a 
great drone, who chanced to be passing lazily along, 
and who overheard what Buz said. 

" We were wondering why some combs looked 
so much blacker than others," replied Buz. 



Coming Out. 



'' Because they are used as nursery combs," said 
the drone. ^^ Lots of young bees are born in them, 
and each cell is used over and over again." 

** Are they never used for honey?" asked Hum. 

** Only if there's no room for it elsewhere ; they 
always like to put honey in a nice new comb, and 
then it's called ^ Virgin honey.' But," he continued, 
^'in an old hive, every comb gets used for young 
ones, or grubs as we call them, in time. This isn't 
an old hive." 

"You say 'they,' " remarked Buz, rather timidly; 
" don't you get honey yourself, then, and work like 
the others? " 

'' I should think not ! " replied the drone, with 
great disdain. '' Work, indeed ! " And he moved 
slowly away. 

Then the two young bees went on toward the 
entrance of the hive, and, after being well jostled, 
and ever so much pushed about and run over, all 
of which they didn't mind a bit, they reached the 
board outside, and looked upon the world for the 
first time. 

But they soon had to change their position, for 
they were standing exactly in the stream of traffic. 

'* Now then," said a bee, who was waddling in 
with two great lumps of pollen on her thighs, and 



6 Buz. 

who bumped against Buz, " get out of the way, 
can't you ! '' 

" Come, come,'' said another to Hum, " you 
mustn't stand there, you know; which is it to be 
now — in or out? " 

" I'd rather go out, please," answered Hum. 

" In fact, we've been sent out to sun," added Buz. 

**Out with you then," said the bee, *' and ask one 
of the fanners to show you where to stand." 

^'What's a fanner?" thought Buz. However, 
she didn't ask, for fear of being again told to find 
out ; so she passed on with Hum through the 
entrance. Just outside, a bee was standing quite 
still, and as Buz passed she felt the ends of her 
antennae very much whirred against and tickled, 
and on looking up found that this was occasioned 
by the wings of the bee in question, who was 
moving them so fast that they were almost invisible ; 
in fact, she was nearly lifted by them off her hind 
legs — sometimes quite — and seemed to have hard 
work to keep herself down by clinging on to the 
board with the claws of her front feet. 

'' I shouldn't wonder if that was a fanner," re- 
marked Buz to Hum. 

'' I'm a fanner, right enough," said the bee, who 
had overheard her. " What of that ? " 



Coming Out. 7 



"We were told to ask you where to stand/' 
answered Buz. 

" Get to the other side of me then, toward the 
edge of the board, and out of the way.'* 

Buz and Hum did so, and were then able 
to look quietly about, without getting so tre- 
mendously knocked against. They soon noticed 
that, besides the fanner they had spoken to, there 
were half a dozen more, all busy in the same 
way. 

*'What do you keep on fanning for?" asked Buz, 
who was rather a bumptious young bee. 

'*What for?" replied the fanner. "Why, to give 
the queen and the nurses and all in the hive a little 
fresh air ; they would be stifled this hot weather, if 
something wasn't done." 

" Ah ! " said Hum, " I noticed a current of air as 
we came out." 

" I should hope you did," returned the fanner; 
it would be a pretty thing for us all to be working 
away like this for nothing ! '* 

At this moment a bee passed in with a splendid 
load of pollen on her thighs, the two great yellow 
balls she carried being almost enough to prevent 
her from staggering along. 

" Well done ! '* said the fanner encouragingly as 



8 Buz, 

she passed. ** Good again, old mate ! " and then, 
turning to Buz and Hum, she added — 

'* That bee came out of the cell next to mine, and 
we were born almost at the same time, so we take 
an interest in each other/' 

''Only an interest?'' inquired Buz. ''I should 
have thought you were great friends, like Hum and 
I mean to be ; eh, Hum ? " 

Hum touched Buz with her antennae in a friendly 
way. 

'' There isn't much time to be great friends here," 
answered the fanner ; *' we are always so busy, 
except in the winter, and then we are too sleepy to 
be very affectionate. Besides, we give all our love 
to the queen; you haven't seen her yet, I suppose? 
Wait till you do — you'll find it's just as I tell you. 
Now then ! Where are you going ? Look out, 
there ! Help ! Intruder ! Intruder ! " 

As she spoke, the fanner made at a bee who had 
just alighted, and was passing in. She was joined 
by several others, and they were about to seize the 
intruder, who, however, discovered the mistake, and 
flew off just in time. 

** What was all that about ? " asked Buz, as the 
fanner returned. 

" A bee from some other hive was trying to get 



Coming Out, 



into ours/' replied the fanner; *'but she found out 
where she was just in time. If we had caught her, 
we should perhaps have stung her to death." 

*'How did you know she was a strange bee?" 
inquired Hum. 

" We can tell at once, by touching or smelling a 
bee, whether she belongs to our hive or not ; I don't 
pretend to explain exactly how it is, but we can." 

This quite satisfied the young bees, who now 
became much interested in watching the workers 
arriving from every direction and alighting on the 
board. 

Some were laden with pollen, others had collected 
nothing but honey, and all, the instant they arrived, 
set off to run into the hive as fast as they could, 
without waiting to look round or gossip. 

They certainly were very much in earnest ; any 
one could see that at once. Some seemed very tired, 
and nearly fell back off the board when they pitched 
on the edge of it, and indeed could hardly crawl 
along with their booty. 

'* I know where that bee comes from,*' remarked 
the fanner, as one with peculiar colored pollen on 
her thighs passed in. *' I know quite well.*' ^ 

" Do you ? " said .Buz. '' How ? '' 

** By the look, and by the smell, and — in fact, I 



lo Buz. 

do know ; she comes from Cothelestone Hill. It's 
a beautiful place for bees, but rather a long 
way off." 

** How I should like to go there ! *' exclaimed Buz. 

** Gently, gently/' said the fanner ; '' don't be in 
such a hurry." 

'' Indeed," added Buz, *' I should like to try a short 
fly, now, this moment." 

'' You had better not to-day; your wings will feel 
stiff and cramped. Wait till you have had a good 
feed, and a night's rest, and then you'll do very well. 
You see, the danger is, that if you get below the 
level of the board you may not be able to rise again ; 
and if you have to spend the night on the cold ground, 
I wouldn't give much for your chance of swarming, 
I can tell you." 

*^ What's swarming? " asked Hum. 

** Oh, I can't explain now ; it would take too long. 
You'll find out before the summer is over, I dare 
say." 

At this moment a big rain-drop came splash down 
on the board, close to Buz, and astonished her 
immensely. It was followed by another and another, 
and soon a smart shower drove all the bees near at 
hand under shelter, and Buz and Hum entered the 
hive with them. 



Coming Out. 1 1 



^* What's happening? " asked Buz. 

*' TheyVe upset the watering-pot somewhere/' 
answered the fanner ; ^* we never can find out exactly 
where they do it." 

*' Then how do you know it's a watering-pot?" 
inquired Hum. 

'' Sometimes," answered the bee, ''when we are 
gathering honey in a bed of mignonette or other 
flowers, the gardener comes along with his watering- 
pot and upsets it over us, and then it feels so exactly 
like what's going on now, that we think it must be 
the same sort of thing, you know." 

When the storm first began, a great many bees 
arrived from different directions, and crowded into 
the hive ; and as those within were prevented from 
starting afresh, and were standing near the entrance, 
impatiently waiting for the rain to stop, there was a 
great bustle, and some difficulty in moving. Buz, 
however, kept near her friend and the fanner, and 
said to the latter : 

" No more bees are coming in now ; have they all 
returned ? " 

*'Oh dear, no," answered the fanner; '' those who 
were too far off to get back before the worst of the 
storm have found shelter somewhere ; but," she 
added, '' they'll soon stop watering now." « 



1 2 Buz. 

*^ How do you know?" asked Buz. 

*^ I can feel it/' said the fanner. *' Any bee, after 
a little experience, can tell ; and when they are going 
to water for a long time we do not go out in such 
numbers, or so far, as we do before a mere sprinkle 
like this. Look ! It's just over." 

This was quite true, and presently the sun shone 
brightly out, and the rain-drops flashed and sparkled, 
and a clean fresh smell came from the earth, and the 
flowers lifted up their heads and offered the sweets 
they contained to the busy, happy bees, who now 
left the hive in great numbers, and scattered them- 
selves all over the kitchen garden in which their hive 
stood, and over the pleasant fields beyond. 

" What fun ! " exclaimed Hum, as they stood on 
the board again. '' What fun to go out ! Oh, how 
I long for to-morrow ! " 

Buz and the fanner looked at her with surprise. 
She seemed such a very quiet little bee, that they 
were hardly prepared to find she could becomiC 
so enthusiastic. 

*' I can not bear to be idle," she continued ; *' I 
should like to fill a cell with honey, all by myself ; 
to be of some use, you know, instead of standing 
and looking on while others work." 

"A very proper feeling, my dear," said the fanner 



Coming Out. 13 



approvingly ; '^ but you must remember that the 
great thing is to do your duty; and if your present 
duty is — as I tell you it is — to do nothing, why, you 
are working very well and profitably by just stand- 
ing still and being nicely sunned, ready for to-mor- 
row, don't you see ? " 

"Yes, I see,'* answered Hum, more contentedly. 

** At the same time," continued the fanner, "there 
would be no harm in your trying to fan, if you would 
like to practice that ; only stand well out of the way, 
and take care at first not to work too hard." 

Hum, taking the permission without paying much 
attention to the caution, went to the side of the 
board and set to work, but so vigorously, that she 
turned herself completely over on her back, and would 
have lifted herself quite into the air if she had not 
clung very tightly to the board with her fore feet. 

Buz was highly amused at this, and helped to set 
her right ; and Hum, though exceedingly astonished, 
and a little mortified at what had happened, set to 
work again at once, and in a very short time was 
really able to fan. 

"That will be a useful bee," remarked the fanner 
to Buz, as Hum continued practicing. 

" I'm sure she will," said Buz ; " but all bees work, 
don't they? I shall, I know." 



14 Buz, 

'' Oh, yes ; a lazy bee wouldn^t do here at all. But 
there are different dispositions in bees all the same ; 
for instance, some will think only of how many cells 
they can fill with honey, and will consequently never 
go far from the hive, so as not to lose time ; others 
are more adventurous, go further afield, and try to 
get curious sorts of honey/' 

'' I shall be one of that sort," said Buz ; ** I know 
I shall." 

"Then again," continued the fanner, *^ some bees 
are good-tempered, and others are cross ; for instance, 
I know one who won't let any person but the 
gardener come near the hive ; if any one else does, 
she goes straight at him, to sting or to pretend to 
sting him ; and I must say it is very amusing to see 
a person run. I say, do you feel hungry? " 

Buz was rather astonished at the sudden manner 
in which this question was asked, but replied, *'Why, 
yes, I think I do." 

'' Because it is about time," continued the fanner, 
"for you and Hum to go back to your cells ; young 
things ought never to be long without food. You 
will find the nurses somewhere about." 

" Thank you," said Buz ; and she went off to fetch 
Hum. 

On their way into the hive Buz stopped, and said 



Coming Out. 15 



to the bee, who was still fanning away as hard as 
ever, '* Will you tell us your name, please?'* 

'' My name's ' Fan.' " 
' " What, because you fan ? " 

" Oh dear, no ; certainly not ! I don't always fan, 
you know ; I only take my turn." 

" I understand," said Buz ; and away went the 
two young bees to find their nurses and get some 
food. 




CHAPTER II. 

FIRST FLIGHTS — NARROW ESCAPE. 



EXT morning, Buz and 
Hum were, of course, in a 
great hurry to leave the hive 
and try their wings ; but 
one of the nurses, who hap- 
pened to see them on their 
way to the entrance very 
early indeed, told them not 
to be tempted out by the 
bright rays of the sun, which 
had only just risen, but to 
wait till the world was a lit- 
tle warmer. '' Many a young bee,'* she added, " yes, 
and many an older bee who ought to have known 
better, has left this hive on a bright-looking spring 




First Flights — Narrow Escape. 17 

morning, and has never returned, because it was 
really so much colder than it seemed that no bee 
could stand it. The fact is, we can not endure cold 
weather; we should like to be able to, but we can't, 
and so there's an end of it." 

With these sagacious words the nurse took her 
departure, and Buz and Hum, though they felt it 
was a great trial to wait, agreed to do nothing fool- 
ish. 

*' At any rate,** said the former, "we can stand out 
on the board, and run in directly we feel cold." 

So out they went, and took a bee's-eye view of 
the garden. 

It was certainly a lovely morning, and the sun 
shone right into the mouth of the hive, which faced 
east, or rather south-east, as a hive should. 

The garden in which it stood, had a high wall all 
round it ; but, as the ground sloped away. Buz and 
Hum could see the country beyond, and the end of 
the beautiful lime-tree avenue which led from the 
old house near at hand. 

Such a comfortable, old-fashioned country-house 
it was, with many gable-ends, and queer bits of 
building sticking out from it in all directions. It 
didn't belong to any particular order of architecture, 
and didn't want to. There was nothing at all cor- 



1 8 Buz. 

rect about it ; and no architect, traveling through 
the country to pick up hints, would have thought 
of pulling out his book of plans to take a copy. You 
couldn't copy it — that was just the beauty of it ; but 
no artist could possibly pass it without taking off a 
lot of sketches of odd bits and corners here and 
there, or without being delighted with the pictur- 
esque old place. 

And inside ! Was there ever such a place for 
children to play hide-and-seek in ? There were really 
no end of long passages, and big cupboards, and tiny 
rooms ; while, as for stairs ! they were here, there, 
and everywhere : almost every room had two or 
three steps leading up to it, or two or three steps 
leading down to it ; for the architect, or rather archi- 
tects (there must have been a dozen of them 
employed at different times), seemed to have said, 
'' No, we won't have any two rooms exactly on the 
same level — not if we can help it." Some of the 
rooms had windows that looked down into the old 
hall ; others had managed to get so exactly into the 
middle of the house that there was nothing for it 
but to light them from the next room ; but that 
didn't matter a bit : they did famously for keeping 
bandboxes and odd things in, and there were heaps 
of rooms to spare. Nowadays, people wouldn't like 



First Flights — Narrow Escape, 19 

to build in that sort of way, they are so particular 
about turning every inch of space to account ; and 
one might tell from a glance at the outside of a 
modern house the situation of all the rooms within. 
Well, that wasn't the case with Heathercombe, at 
any rate ; but, such as it was, no one could have 
helped saying, '' What a dear, comfortable old place ! 
I wonder what its history is ? There must be plenty 
of stories belonging to it/' And so there were, as 
even the old lime trees in the avenue knew quite 
well. 

The garden exactly suited the house, so it is 
hardly necessary to say that there was nothing formal 
about it. You couldn't take in the whole pattern of 
the flower-beds at once, as if you were looking at a 
Turkey carpet ; for little narrow paths, that twisted 
about as much as they possibly could, led you to all 
kinds of odd nooks and out-of-the-way corners, here 
passing a quaint bit of yew hedge, and there round- 
ing a clump of enormous shrubs ; and in all the 
corners and in every nook you would find a little 
flower-bed or two, filled with dear old-fashioned 
flowers — moss roses, wall-flowers, columbines, stocks, 
marigolds, and many others ; and hardly any of 
those eternal geraniums with dreadful names, and 
calceolarias of high degree, which have to be shown 



20 Buz, 

in stiff regimental order, and which look very lovely 
in certain places, but wouldn't have suited the old 
garden at all. Then there were plenty of rustic 
seats and dear little summer-houses, and, of course, 
an old sundial, so covered with moss that the figures 
on the dial were completely hidden — that didn't 
matter ; it would have been a shame to dream of 
utilizing it — and on the summer-houses, sweetbriers 
and honeysuckles crept and twined and hung as 
much as ever they liked ; and mignonette grew in 
patches all about the place, and even the steps of 
the old sundial were covered with musk. 

What with all the sweet flowers, and what with 
the yew hedges and tall shrubs, affording shelter 
from any wind that might blow, it was the place of 
all others for bees. 

But Buz and Hum knew nothing about this as 
yet, and as they looked at the kitchen garden they 
thought it was big enough for any thing. There 
were no fanners at work on the board : the morning 
was too cool for them to be needed — so cool that, 
though plenty of bees kept on walking to the edge 
of the board and taking observations — it was some 
time before any flew off. 

At last, as the sun's rays grew warmer, one or 
two were hardy enough to start away on their long 



First Flights — Narrow Escape, 21 

day's work ; but just then Buz and Hum felt quite 
chilled, and had to run into the hive, where they 
very soon got nice and warm again. 

'' How lucky it is," said Hum, '' that we didn't fly 
off at once ! " 

** Why, yes," replied Buz, '*it is certainly colder 
than it seemed at first ; after all, I suppose it's a 
good thing to take advice." 

*' Take advice," repeated a bee who was standing 
near the entrance, and who heard what Buz said ; 
'' I should think it was, just. But what advice have 
you been taking ? " 

So Buz told her, and she seemed pleased, and 
said : 

" I'll tell you what it is, if you two will stay with 
me I'll let you know when I consider it warm enough 
for you to go out ; and when I consider it so, it 
will be so." 

** Come," thought Buz, *^ she doesn't seem to mis- 
trust her judgment much." 

" I might perhaps be tempted," continued the 
bee, ^*to go out a little too soon myself, but 
when one judges for others one is not led away by 
inclination ; do you understand ? " 

'* Yes," replied Buz, '' you mean that it does not 
matter to j^// how \or\<gwe have to wait, don't you ? " 



22 



Buz, 



'' That's about it," said the bee. 

'* But shan't we keep j<?2^ waiting ? " asked Hum. 

*' No ; I'm not going out this morning. I shall 
fan when it gets warmer : that's my work to-day. 
Now, if you are warm again, we'll just step out and 
take a look round." 

So they all three went out, and even in the short 
time they had been away they found that the sun 
had become much more powerful. 

But their newly-made friend would not let them 
start quite at once, and took the opportunity of 
giving them several hints about collecting honey, 
and so on. '' However," she added, '' I won't bother 
you any more now ; for there is a certain party to 
whom you are going to be introduced, who will 
teach you more in a day than you could learn from 
me in a week." 

*' Who? " asked Buz and Hum together. 

*' Experience," answered the bee, looking very 
wise indeed. 

And now at last the time came, and Buz and 
Hum were allowed to try their wings. 

''Follow me," said their friend; ''I can spare 
time to fly a little way ; and when I stop, you stop 
too." 

" All right," cried Buz, trembling with excitement. 



First Flights — Narrow Escape, 



Hum said nothing, but her wings began to move, 
ahnost in spite of herself. 

Away went the bee, as straight as a line from the 
mouth of the hive, and away flew Buz and Hum 
after her ; but at first starting they both found it a 
little difficult to keep quite straight, and Buz 
knocked against the board to begin with, and nearly 
stopped herself, as she had not learned how to 
rise. 

The bee did not go far, and lit on the branch of a 
peach tree which was growing against a wall hard 
by. Buz came after her in a great hurry, but missed 
the branch and gave herself a bang against the wall. 
Hum saw this, and managed to stop herself in time; 
but she did not judge her distance very well either, 
and got on to the peach tree in a scrambling sort 
of way. 

'* Very good," said their friend, as they all three 
stood together; '' you will soon be able to take care 
of yourselves now; but just let m^esee you back to 
the hive.'* 

So off they flew again, and alighted on the board 
in a very creditable manner. 

^' Now," said the bee, '^ I shall ieave you ; but 
before I go let me advise you, as a friend, not to 
quit the garden to-day ; there are plenty of flowers. 



24 Buz. 

and plenty of opportunities for you to meet with 
* Experience/ without flying over any of the four 
walls. Good-by/' 

So saying, she disappeared into the hive. 

** Isn't it too delightful ! " exclaimed Buz to 
Hum. ** Flying ! why it's even more fun than I 
thought ! " 

''It is," said Hum ; '' but I should like to get 
some honey at once." 

'' Of course," replied Buz, *' only I should like to 
fly a good way to get it." 

'* I want to fill a cell quickly," said Hum. 

'* Oh yes, to be sure ! What a delightful thing it 
will be to put one's proboscis down into every 
flower and see what's there ! Do you know," added 
Buz, putting out her proboscis, *' I feel as if I could 
suck tremendously ; don't you ? " 

" Yes, yes ! " cried Hum, *' I long to be sucking ; 
let's be off at once." 

So away they went, and lit on a bed of flow- 
ers. 

Hum spent the day between the hive and that bed, 
and was quite, quite happy ; but Buz, though she too 
liked collecting the honey, wanted to have more 
excitement in getting it ; and every now and then, as 
she passed to and from the hive, a lovely field of 



First Flights — Narrow Escape. 25 

clover, not far off, sent forth such a delicious smell, 
as the breeze swept over it, that she was strongly 
tempted to disregard the advice she had been given, 
and to hurry off to it. 

At last she could stand it no longer ; and, rising 
high into the air, she sailed over the wall and went 
out into the world beyond. 

Yes, right out into the world ; and very much did 
she enjoy the sense of freedom, of going as high as 
she liked and flying as fast as she could, and stop- 
ping exactly when and where she felt inclined, with 
nobody to bother her with good advice — which she 
was ready to admit was all very well, though, at the 
same time, a person couldn't everlastingly be taking 
it. She had had quite enough for one day, she was 
sure of that ; and so she hadn't told Hum of her 
intention to leave that poky old kitchen garden : 
Hum might be giving advice next and that would be 
too absurd ! 

And so she reached the field of clover, and, flying 
quite low over the flowers, was astonished to see 
what lots of bees were busy among them — bumble 
bees without end, and plenty of honey bees too ; in 
fact, the air was filled with the pleasant murmur that 
they made. 

*' To be sure,'' said Buz to herself, " this is the 



26 Buz. 

place for me ! Poor dear old Hum ! I hope she*s 
enjoying herself as much as I am I don't mean to 
be idle either, so here goes for some honey/* 

But the first thing to do was to pick out a flower 
to settle on. 

It seemed easy enough, for there were hundreds 
of thousands to choose from. That was just it ; 
who was to choose any particular flower out of such 
a lot ! A dozen times Buz was on the point of 
alighting on one, and a dozen times she was attracted 
by another close by, which seemed a little fresher, 
or a little richer, or a little larger. This wouldn't 
do at all ; she felt she was wasting time, and had 
just made up her mind to let herself fall anyhow 
into the clover and begin on the first bit she touched, 
when she caught sight of a splendid flower close to 
her. There was no mistake about it this time ; it 
was a king clover, she thought, so tall and fine, and 
promising such a supply of honey that she settled 
on it at once in triumph. 

And she eagerly unpacked her proboscis and 
explored, one after another, the cups of the many 
flowers clustered together in the head. 

But how dreadfully disappointing ! Not a drop 
of honey, not the least little drop, could she find in 
the whole flower ! 



First Flights — Narrow Escape. 27 

*^ Well, I declare ! " she said aloud, as she raised 
her head at last in disgust, ^^ it's perfectly dry ! " 

At this the flower gave a low silvery laugh, and 
shook a little on its stalk. 

" Dry ! " it repeated ; '' I should rather think I 
was ; sucked as dry as a brick, half an hour ago." 

'* Indeed ! " said Buz. 

** Yes, my dear, indeed," repeated the flower 
cheerily; "and so many bees besides yourself have 
been sold this morning, that it's really quite ridic- 
ulous ! I suppose you're a young bee, eh ?" 

" Well, rather," answered Buz. " Why ? " 

" You see, you young things always will pick out 
the biggest and tallest of us, and will waste your 
time in trying us all over, quite forgetting that 
others before you have most likely been attracted 
by just the same qualities that you admire yourself. 
Now let me give you a bit of advice. " 

" More advice," thought Buz to herself. " Oh 
dear!" However, she said politely enough that 
she would be glad to have it. 

** Then," said the flower, " pick out the blossoms 
that are most hidden and most out of the way. 
Flowers that are really almost troublesome to get at 
are generally worth trying : you will find this the 
case nearly always ; and remember also, that if the 



28 Buz. 

first two or three cups of a head like mine be dry, it 
is hardly worth while trying all the others, for the 
same bee who cleared out the first will probably 
have worked out every cup in the flower. Don't 
you think so ?" 

" Yes, I do," replied Buz ; '^ I know /should, at 
least. Well, Fm much obliged to you for the hint, 
and ril be off at once and take advantage of it." 

'' All right," said the flower. " Good-by." 

" Good-by," answered Buz ; and away she flew. 

Not for more than a few yards though ; turning 
suddenly back, she lit once more on the same flower. 

" I thought I'd just ask you," she said, ** if it's a 
fair question, do you mind us bees taking away your 
honey ; or do you consider us so many robbers? " 

'' Mind it ! " replied the flower. '' Not at all ; 
you do us quite as much good as we do you, with- 
out being able so help it any more than we can." 

** Do we really ? " said Buz. 

*^ Of course you do," answered the flower : ** look 
at your legs." 

Buz looked. 

" I can only see a little yellow dust on them." 

'' Well, that's pollen ; and the pollen from one 
flower fertilizes others. But how is it to get to 
them ? It must be carried, of course ; and though 



First Flights — Narrow Escape, 29 

sometimes the wind does this for us, you bees are 
the means we chiefly depend on. In short, without 
bees there would be a very poor look-out for flowers ; 
and, of course, we are necessary to you : so, you see, 
it's a case of ' tit for tat.' Good-morning." 

"Good-morning again, and thank you," said Buz, 
as she flew away. 

And now it was high time to set to work in earnest ; 
so Buz was very diligent indeed, and, remembering 
what the tall clover blossom had told her, she selected 
the most out-of-the-way flowers she could find, and 
soon collected as much honey as she could carry. 

But by the time she had done this she found her- 
self close to the further end of the clover field ; and 
while resting for a moment, before starting to carry 
her load to the hive, she noticed a little pond in the 
corner. Feeling thirsty after her hard work, she 
flew off to take a few sips; but just as she reached 
the pond and was in the act of descending, a light 
gust of wind caught her and turned her half over, 
and before she could recover herself she was plunged 
far out into the water ! 

Poor Buz ! She was a brave little bee, but this 
was a terrible accident ; and after a few wild strug- 
gles she almost gave herself up. The water was so 
cold, and she felt herself so helpless in it ; and then 



30 Buz. 

the accident had happened so suddenly, and taken 
her so utterly by surprise, that it was no wonder she 
lost courage. Only for a moment though ; just as 
she was giving up in despair the hard and seemingly 
useless work of paddling and struggling with all her 
poor little legs at once, she saw that a bit of stick 
was floating near her, and with renewed energy she 
attempted to get to it. Alas ! it was all she could 
do to keep her head above water; as for moving 
along through it, that seemed impossible, and she 
was tempted to give up once more. It was very 
hard though ; there was the stick, not more than a 
foot away from her ; if she could only reach it ! At 
any rate, she was determined it should not be her 
fault if she was unsuccessful ; so she battled away 
harder than ever, though her strength began to fail 
and she was becoming numbed with the cold. 
Just as she made this last effort another gust of 
wind swept over the pond, and Buz saw that the 
stick began to move through the water, and to come 
nearer and nearer to her. The fact was that a small 
twig sticking up from it acted as a sail, though Buz 
didn't know this. And now the stick was quite 
close, almost within reach ; in another moment she 
would be on it. Ah ! but a moment seems a long 
time when one is at the last gasp, as poor Buz was. 



First Flights — Narrow Escape, 31 

Would she be drowned after all? No! Just as 
she was sinking she touched the stick with one 
little claw, and held on as only drowning people 
can ; and then she got another safely lodged, and 
was able to rest for a moment. Oh, the relief of 
that, after such a long and ceaseless struggle ! 

But even then it was very hard work to get up on 
the stick, very hard indeed. However, Buz man- 
aged it at last, and dragged herself quite out of the 
cold, cruel water. 

By this time the breeze was blowing steadily over 
the pond, and the stick would soon reach the bank ; 
but Buz felt very miserable and cold, and her wings 
clung tightly to her, and she looked dreadfully for- 
lorn. 

The pond, too, was overshadowed by trees; so 
there were no sunbeams to warm her. 

'*Ah!" thought she, ''if I can manage to drag 
myself up into the sunshine, and rest and be well 
warmed, I shall soon be better." 

Well, the bank was safely reached at last ; but 
Buz, all through her life, never forgot what a busi- 
ness it was climbing up the side. The long grasses 
yielded to her weight, and bent almost straight 
down, as if on purpose to make it as uphill work for 
her as possible. And even when she reached the top 



3 2 Buz. 

it took her a weary while to get across the patch of 
dark shadow and out into the glad sunlight beyond ; 
but she managed to arrive there at last, and crawl- 
ing on the top of a stone which had been well 
warmed by the sun's rays, she rested for a long 
time. 

At last she sufficiently recovered to make her way, 
by a succession of short flights, back to the hive. 
After the first of these she felt so dreadfully weak 
that she almost doubted being able to accomplish 
the journey, and began to despond. 

" If I ever do get home,'' she said to herself, " I 
will tell Hum all about it, and how right she was to 
take advice ; in fact, my story shall be known 
throughout the hive : it may be a useful warning to 
many young bees yet unhatched." 

Now, whether it was that the exercise did her 
good, or that the sun's rays became hotter that 
afternoon, can not be known : but this is certain, 
that Buz felt better after every flight, and before she 
had reached the end of the clover field she had 
almost determined to say nothing about her adven- 
ture, except, of course, to Hum. *' What's the use 
of being laughed at ? " she thought. '' I shouldn*t 
mind much if it would do any good ; but would it? 
that's the point. I fancy not ; the young bees would 



First Flights — Narrow Escape. 33 

only be amused at hearing what a mess I had got 
into, but they never would think of the story at 
the right time. No, I shall certainly not make it 
public." 

So she sipped a little honey, cleaned herself with 
her feet, and stretched her wings, and, with the sun 
glistening brightly on her, looked quite fine again. 
Her last flight brought her to the top of the kitchen- 
garden wall, from which she was just about to start 
for the hive, when she thought how disagreeable it 
would be to meet Hum and tell her every thing. 
'* After all, what good can possibly come of alluding 
to my adventure ? " she said to herself. *^ It hurt 
no one but me, and I'm all right again now ; so I 
may say it has done me good. No, I declare I'll say 
nothing at all about it to Hum or any one else: 
that will be the best way." 

So she opened her wings and flew gayly to the 
hive, which she entered just as if nothing had hap- 
pened. 




CHAPTER III. 

DISPUTE WITH A PEACOCK BUTTERFLY. 
THE SNAIL SETTLES IT. 




'OR a few days after her narrow 
escape, Buz did not venture far 
from the hive, and worked 
steadily and well. She now and 
then met Hum, and they were 
always good friends ; but she 
found that what she had heard 
was quite true, and that there 
was not much time for any thing 
but work. One morning, how- 
ever, as they were both waiting 
near the entrance of the hive till it should be warm 
enough to go out, Hum asked Buz if she had seen 
the queen yet. 



DisptUe with a Peacock Butterfly, 35 

'' I should think so ! " replied Buz. '' The first time I 
met her, I was carrying in some honey, and was pass- 
ing between two combs, when, without knowing why, 
I found myself turning round to the right and bow- 
ing away like any thing! 'What's the matter with 
me?' thought I; * this is quite ridiculous' — but 
ridiculous or not, I did not seem to be able to stop, 
and was actually getting angry with myself, when I 
saw, in the midst of a circle of bees close to me, one 
who I felt must be the queen. She was so long in 
the body and so graceful, and her wings were so 
much shorter than ours, that no one could help see- 
ing the difference at once ; and, then, all the bees 
round were careful to keep their heads turned 
toward her. She was busy laying eggs, and I 
watched her for some time ; but one got tired of 
that, and so I squeezed out of the crowd. I suppose 
you've seen her too? " 

** Oh, yes ! " answered Hum, ** and she noticed me 
quite kindly ; I'd do any thing for her — any thing ! " 

'* Certainly," said Buz ; '' I suppose you feel that 
you couldn't do a stroke of work unless you knew 
that she was in the hive, and all safe." 

*' Yes," answered Hum, " I quite feel so." 

" With regard to that," pursued Buz, *' every bee 
in the hive is just the same." 



36 Buz, 

'^ How do you know ? '' 

^^A drone told me." 

'' I have several times seen you talking to drones." 

'' I always go to a drone when I want to know any 
thing." 

*^Do you really?" 

*' Yes, of course ; bees who work hard like you, old 
Hum, never have time to explain, but are always in 
such a hurry to be off. Now drones are very lazy in 
every other way, but are tremendous gossips, I find." 

** Ah ! " said Hum ; ^^ I remember nurse telling me 
that if I showed her a lazy person, she would show 
me a gossip." 

'' That's it ! " cried Buz. *^ Well, a drone told me 
that the custom we all have of touching each other 
with our antennae whenever we pass, was introduced 
on purpose to save the trouble of asking after the 
queen. It's merely a signal that every thing is going 
on well with her." 

"■ I can believe that," said Hum, *^ for it's just what 
I feel." 

At this moment the sun peeped over a bank of 
morning clouds, and called the bees to work; and 
out went Buz and Hum with the rest, the former 
making her way to the old-fashioned flower garden 
near the house. 



Dispute with a Peacock Butterfly. 37 

Here she was soon busy among some early stocks 
and mignonette which grew near the sundial, and 
had already made several journeys to and from the 
hive, when she was addressed by a peacock butterfly 
which she had noticed flitting about, and which was 
now sitting on the top of the dial itself. 

** You seem to have something like an appetite this 
morning ! " said the butterfly. 

^* What do you mean ? ** said Buz. 

'* But you'll make yourself ill, you know,'' con- 
tinued the butterfly. 

** I'm sure I shan't!" answered Buz, indig- 
nantly. 

** Unless you're like a snake," persisted the butter- 
fly in an aggravating manner, ** and can take in 
enough food for a week." 

**You don't know what you're talking about," 
cried Buz, turning angrily away. 

'* Oh, yes, I do," said the butterfly coolly ; '' I've 
been watching you, and thinking. It's the only 
thing I've been doing." 

**And you've done that wrong," retorted Buz; 
"so it's a pity you weren't asleep." 

** I've been thinking," repeated the butterfly, as if 
she hadn't heard what Buz said, "' that you bees are a 
greedy lot ; and the more I think of it, the more I 



38 Buz. 

can't remember ever seeing a bee that was doing 
any thing except what you're doing now.** 

*^ Do you mind saying that again ? ** said Buz 
sarcastically ; '' it's a pretty sentence, very ! " 

'* Not at all," said the butterfly. And she repeated 
it all over again, word for word, and seemed quite 
pleased. 

This bothered Buz, who didn't exactly know what 
to say ; when the butterfly continued in the calmest 
manner — '^The simple truth is, you're a/wajs think- 
ing of eating." 

^' Why, you ignorant, conceited creature ! " cried 
Buz; *' how dare you tell me that?" 

** Because it's a fact — come now, isn't it ? " said 
the butterfly. 

'' No ! No ! ! No ! ! ! It's a most abominable 
story ! " 

'' You seem a little put out," said the butterfly, 
"which is foolish; people can't always agree, you 
know. Now, suppose you come here and talk the 
matter over with me quietly. I'm sure you can spare 
a few minutes." 

Buz was at first inclined to refuse indignantly; 
but remembering what a triumph it would be to 
prove the butterfly wrong in everything she said, 
consented. 



Dispute with a Peacock Butterfly, 39 

**That*s right," said the butterfly, as Buz settled 
down close to her. '' Now begin." 

''How?" asked Buz. 

*' I made a statement that seemed to annoy you. 
You must either admit it, or prove I'm wrong. 
My statement was, that you bees are always think- 
ing of eating." 

'' I certainly don't admit it." 

"Then disprove it." 

" To begin with, we don't — but, I say," said Buz, 
suddenly interrupting herself, ''why shouldn't j^^// 
prove you're right ? " 

" Any thing you please ; I won't be particular 
with you. Well then, I've observed, not you alone, 
but dozens of other bees — not on this day alone, but 
on dozens of other days — and you have all been 
doing the same thing — always. You have all been 
employed in sucking every drop of honey out of 
every single flower you could get at ; as for ever 
resting, or playing about, or even stopping to talk 
— why you know you never do. Those are the 
observations I have made myself, and on those 
observations I base my statement — I base my state- 
ment," repeated the butterfly, speaking very slowly, 
and evidently rather proud of herself. 

" Among your other observations," said Buz, try- 



40 Buz. 

ing to talk as calmly as the butterfly, '^ have you 
ever noticed that we are in the habit of leaving at 
intervals the flowers on which we are busy, of flying 
rapidly away, and of returning after a short 
absence ? " 

'' I have," replied the butterfly. 

*' Can you tell me why we do so ? " 

" If you'll promise not to be vexed, I'll tell you 
what I've always thought." 

*' I'll promise," said Buz. 

'' To get an appetite for a little more honey." 

''Ah! then you're just wrong — as wrong as ever 
you can be." 

" Am I really ? " said the butterfly. '' Well, you 
know, it was only a guess, and isn't of the least 
consequence." 

'' But it is," cried Buz, '' of the greatest possible 
consequence, and so you'll be driven to admit when 
I. explain that we leave the flowers, on purpose to 
deposit the honey we have collected, in our hive ; 
and there it is stored up for our use during the 
winter. So you see we don't eat it at all, or think 
of eating it — there ! — and so you're wrong ! " con- 
cluded Buz, excitedly. 

"- Then you'd like me to withdraw my statement ? " 
asked the butterfly. 



Dispute with a Peacock Butterfly. 41 

" Of course ; you must withdraw it, now you know 
that I have hardly eaten any honey all this morning 
— not so much as you have, I daresay." 

** Very good,'' replied the butterfly; " but before 
I do so, tell me if I am wrong in thinking you said 
the honey was stored for your use during the winter/* 

** That's just what I said." 

" May I ask how you use it? " 

** Why, we eat it, of course," said Buz. 

** Then all this morning you must have been 
thinking — not of what you were eating, certainly — 
but of what you are going to eat in the winter. 
Dear me ! dear me ! This is even worse than I 
thought," said the butterfly, almost sadly. 

** But it isn't greediness on our part," said Buz ; 
'*we call it, being provident." 

"" It sounds greedy tome though," said the butter- 
fly. '* According to your own account, you think all 
the summer of what you are going to eat all the 
winter. You think of nothing else, and work like 
slaves, and never have any fun. Well, I wouldn't be a 
bee ! " 

Buz was rather disconcerted at the turn the con- 
versation had taken, and, more to gain time than for 
any other reason, she asked the butterfly how she 
spent Aifr time. 



42 Buz. 

*' I do exactly what I like all day long, and never 
think of a moment beyond the present. If I feel 
hungry, I eat, and directly Tm satisfied I think of 
food no longer; if I am hot, I fly in the shade; if 
cold, I bask in the sun. When I feel lively, I dance 
gayly up and down in the air,' and the moment I'm 
tired, I stop. I have a thousand companions as 
gay and beautiful as myself, always ready to play 
with me, and nothing can put me out, for I don't 
care what happens to me." 

** But when the cold winter begins ? " 

*^Then I shall die," said the butterfly, very cheer- 
fully — ^* at least, so I suppose ; but what of that ? 
Perhaps I shall like it." 

*' At any rate," said Buz, ** you have described a 
very selfish, useless sort of life." 

'' And in what sense is yours useful?" retorted 
the butterfly, ** except to yourself perhaps. If you 
do not gather all the honey you talk about for your 
own use, you at least expect a share of what the 
other bees in your hive collect ; so that in point of 
fact you only work hard in order to keep yourself 
alive. I ask again, what's the use of your keeping 
alive? " 

** To begin with," said Buz, ''I help to make the 
cells in which we rear the young grubs, and to col- 



Dispute with a Peacock Butterfly. 43 

lect the food with which we feed them — and in that 
way I am unselfishly useful, you must allow/' 

'* Perhaps; but after all, what do you gain by 
working hard to rear a lot of things as useless as 
yourself ? I know there will be dozens of young 
caterpillars — nasty things ! — crawling about some 
day, that will all come out of the eggs I laid yester- 
day. Do you suppose I'm proud of that ? Certainly 
not." 

Buz suddenly remembered what the clover flower 
had told her with regard to the use of bees in dis- 
tributing pollen, and eagerly repeated it to the butter- 
fly, who only said — 

** I sincerely hope you don't take any credit to 
yourself for that. You surely are not proud of doing 
what you couldn't help doing, however hard you 
tried ? " 

*' I like to think I am useful, even if no praise is 
due to me for doing so. My life would not be spent 
in vain if I were useful even against my will, and I 
still say that it is a higher and nobler one than yours. 
I am convinced that the consciousness of being use- 
fully employed " 

*' I deny the usefulness to any one but yourself, 
mind," put in the butterfly. 

** Makes life far happier," continued Buz, '' than it 



44 Buz. 

can possibly be in your case, who live only for self- 
indulgence; and, even if it be true, as you affirm it is, 
that my existence is utterly in vain, the very fact of 
my longing to be of use, and of your being unwilling 
to be useful even if you could, makes me certain 
that it is better to be a bee than a butterfly." 

'^ Pity we can't agree ! " said the butterfly. "' Fine 
day, ain't it ? " 

Buz was so annoyed at the flippant manner in 
which the butterfly put an end to the conversation, 
in which she had really become interested, that she 
turned to leave without saying another word, when 
she heard a thick, muffled voice, so close to her that 
she quite started — 

** Fm very old." Then there was a pause. '' Very 
old indeed," continued the voice, which Buz now 
found proceeded from a large snail, stuck close to 
the edge of the sundial. '' Hundreds of years, per- 
haps," said the snail slowly, as if he was reckoning 
up. 

'' Thousands, I should say," remarked the butter- 
fly, in a low voice. 

''And I know a lot." Here there was a long 
pause. 

*' He knows how to keep silence, at any rate," said 
the butterfly to Buz. 



Dispute with a Peacock Butterfly, 45 

** Which is more than some people do/' retorted 
Buz. 

'' In here I think a good deal/* continued the snail. 
'* I was once imprisoned in a rock for over a hundred 
years ; I thought a good deal then." 

Buz didn't know what to say, and even the butter- 
fly made no remark ; the voice was so very solemn, 
and also she felt that the snail wouldn't have cared 
for any words of hers. The latter soon continued — 

" I once considered the subject of your late con- 
versation (of which, I must tell you, I heard every 
word) for fifty years at a stretch." 

*' Did you get a headache after it? " the butterfly 
couldn't help asking. But the snail didn't seem to 
hear her, and Buz took no notice whatever of the 
question. 

'* And as," said the snail, *^you were both totally 
wrong in the conclusions to which you came, I shall 
just put you right. You bee," he continued — sud- 
denly shooting out the horn nearest to Buz, and 
keeping it pointed toward her — ^^ seem to despise the 
butterfly for not working, or taking any care for the 
future, and for leading a vain and useless life, as you 
call it. Don't despise the butterfly. And you but- 
terfly " — here he shot out his other horn, and pointed 
it at the insect he addressed — " appear to pity the 



46 Buz. 

bee because she works hard during the summer, in 
order that she may keep herself alive through the 
winter, instead of enjoying herself while she may. 
Don't pity the bee." 

The snail paused for a moment, and drew in both 
his horns, and then continued in a very solemn 
manner — 

"' What is right for one person, is wrong for 
another. If a bee were to lead the life of a butter- 
fly, she would be miserable ; for she was created in 
order that she might work, and no one can be really 
happy who is not fulfilling the object of his creation. 
On the other hand, if a butterfly were to attempt to 
work, she would fail, and be miserable also. So let 
the bee work as hard as she can, without being proud 
of doing what is only her duty — and she will be as 
happy as the butterfly. Let the butterfly sit in the 
sun and look beautiful, and enjoy all the pleasures of 
life and be thankful for them : above all, let her never 
look down on those whose duty it is to work ; let her 
always have a soft heart and a kind word for such as 
are fagged and worn by the toil she is not called 
upon to endure herself — and the butterfly will be as 
happy as the bee. As for presuming *' — (here the 
snail became as stern as such a soft thing conven- 
iently could) — ** as for presuming to settle which is 



Dispute with a Peacock BiUterfiy. 47 

the nobler, or higher, or better life to lead, how dare 
you attempt to do so ! It is not for you to decide. 
In my opinion, whoever does the work he is given to 
do, best — whatever that work may be — whatever that 
work may be, mind," repeated the snail emphatically, 
putting out both his horns, and pointing one at each 
of the insects in a very significant manner — *' leads 
the best life." 

At this moment the sun, which had been behind a 
cloud for some time, shone brightly out, and the 
snail retired into his shell at once, and rested on the 
cool soft moss which grew over the dial. The two 
insects looked at each other rather foolishly, and 
Buz was the first to speak : 

^' I'm glad that snail overheard us, and spoke out 
so plainly ; I seem to see things differently now, and 
retract what I said about selfishness." 

'* And I," answered the butterfly — who was really 
very good-natured, and was apt to hurt people's feel- 
ings only from want of thought — ^^ am very sorry 
indeed that I should have laughed at you or your 
work ; for I honor you in my heart, I do indeed. 
Now come," she continued coaxingly, '' do let us 
part friends ; and if you would let me take one of 
the hints given by that dear old snail, I should think 
it so kind of you. If ever you feel tired or over- 



48 Buz. 

worked, or whenever things go wrong, do come and 
let me try to cheer you up ; now do ! ** 

*' I certainly will," answered Buz, '' though at the 
same time, I enjoy my work so much that I don't 
expect to have to trouble you often ; however it's 
quite nice of you to think of it," she concluded, '* and 
Ihope we may frequently meet. Now I really must be 
off. I don't consider my time here has been wasted, 
but I am perfectly rested, and have plenty to do." 

** I won't try to detain you," said the butterfly ; 
" and mind, I shall always be most interested in 
hearing what work you are engaged in, and how it is 
getting on." 

*^ And on my part," answered Buzgayly, ** it will 
always be a pleasure to me to see you flying about 
and looking so pretty. Good-by, dear ! " 

^' Good-by, good-by ! " echoed the butterfly, as 
Buz went off. 

For some little time after this, the pretty butterfly 
sat and thought, but at last, rousing herself with a 
merry little laugh — "• I mustn't become like the snail," 
she said to herself ; *' thafs not my work, at any 
rate." 

So away she flew, in the highest possible spirits, in 
and out, in and out, among the flowers and over 
the shrubs that grew in the delightful old garden. 




CHAPTER IV. 

SWARMING. 

;NE morning early, Buz was on 
the point of starting for the 
top of Cothelestone Hill. She 
had been there several times 
already ; indeed it was a favor- 
ite place of hers. She so 
thoroughly enjoyed the long 
flight to it through the air : it 
was so glorious to mount high 
up above the fields, and to see 
the devvdrops sparkling like diamonds in the morning 
sun — to listen to the lark as he took his first upward 
flight, and poured out his song for joy that another 
day had come — to inhale the fragrance of dawn, 
knowing that all the flowers which made it so 




50 Buz. 

sweet, were waiting for her, and would be glad when 
they saw her coming. This was delightful in- 
deed. 

Then again, Buz always looked forward to inter- 
esting conversations with the flowers she visited, and 
the insects and creatures she met ; and she had a sort 
of idea that the further she strayed from the hive, 
the more curious would be her adventures, and the 
more charming the stories she was told. But this 
did not follow at all ; and many of the prettiest tales 
she heard, were repeated to her by flowers which 
grew in the old garden near the hive, though it w^as 
some time before she would admit this, even to her- 
self. 

On her way to the entrance on this particular 
morning, she perceived that a most unusual bustle 
was going on all through the hive ; and, directly the 
first bee touched her, she felt quite excited and dis- 
inclined to work, though she didn't exactly under- 
stand why. At this moment she saw a drone — 
** What's up now? " she cried, running to him in a 
great hurry. 

'^ Don't fuss," said the drone snappishly. 

** Well, I only want to know what all this stir and 
confusion means?" 

*' I'll tell you fast enough if you won't fuss. I 



Swarming. 5 ^ 



hate a bustle ; and there's enough of that, I'm sure, 
without your helping to make it worse." 

'' I'll be quiet as a grub," said Buz, speaking in a 
low voice and standing quite still, though she felt 
that she was becoming more restless every moment. 

The drone looked at her for some time without 
saying a word ; and at last, in a prpvokingly indif- 
ferent manner, asked if she had been fanning 
lately. 

*' Yes," said Buz, '* it was my turn yesterday, and 
it was a very hot day, and so I fanned a great deal ; 
and stupid work it was." 

** Did you observe that there were often great 
clusters of bees hanging together, just by the board 
outside the hive? " 

** Of course I did," replied Buz ; *^ they were there 
till the evening." 

** Did you wonder why? " 

** No ; I heard lots of them say that it was dread- 
fully hot inside, so I suppose they hung out to cool." 

'^ Exactly ; do you know why it was so hot in the 
hive? I can tell you : partly because the day was 
so warm, and partly because there are such a lot of 
bees — too many bees, that's the fact. Well, the 
weather can't be made cooler, but some of the bees 
can go, and they will go too." 



52 Buz. 

'' Dear me ! '' said Buz, ^' will they ? What ! leave 
the hive ? — really leave this hive? '* 

** How can they go without leaving the hive, 
stupid ? '* answered the drone. 

'' Of course they can't ; but what will they do 
without a queen ? " 

" Our present a ueen will go with them ; she knows 
it's too hot in the hive, so she will leave with a party 
of volunteers.'* 

" Volunteers ! " cried Buz ; ** what fun ! Til be 
one ! I'll go ! I may, mayn't I ? Oh, I hope I 
may go ! " 

^* Now, for honey's sake, don't fuss," said the 
drone. 

'^ Certainly not," replied Buz. 

But she was trembling with excitement. Any 
thing for a change, any thing for novelty. She never 
wished to be idle, and she liked all sorts of work ; 
but put her to a different job every day — then she 
was happy ! She cared little for danger, and 
explored all kinds of places that many bees — Hum, 
for instance — wouldn't think of going near ; and 
now the thought of volunteering, and flying off with 
the dear old queen, and beginning life again, as it 
were, was charming. It suited Buz exactly ; but, 
as she had still plenty of questions to ask the drone, 



Swarming, 53 



she kept as quiet as possible ; and he was much too 
lazy and indifferent to notice what an effort this was 
to her. 

'' By the row that's going on," remarked the 
drone, ^* I should say this would be a big swarm." 

'' A swarm ! " exclaimed Buz ; ''then that's what 
swarming is ! " 

*' A horrid noise, a hopeless confusion, a dreadful 
fuss, and an intolerable bustle — that's what swarming 
is," repeated the drone disdainfully. '' I shall cer- 
tainly be glad to have the hive more empty," he 
went on to himself ; '' but why can't they go away 
quietly, and swarm one by one, I should like to 
know? " 

"• Do none of the drones intend to join the 
swarm?" 

" Hundreds will, no doubt ; I shan't." 

'' Will you tell me, please," asked Buz, ''how you 
will get on here without a queen?" 

"You ask such stupid questions," said the drone. 
" You don't think ; you're in such a hurry — that's it." 

" How is mine a stupid question? " 

" Do you mean to tell me that you have never 
passed the royal nurseries ? Do you mean to say 
that you have never heard of royal food ? Do you 
wish me to understand that you have never been 



54 Buz, 

told about the royal grubs ? '* demanded the 
drone. 

" Of course IVe heard of them/' Buz said this a 
little impatiently — the drone spoke so very con- 
temptuously. 

** Oh, you have, have you ? Then you will not 
be astonished when I tell you that royal grubs 
become queens, and that one of those in this hive is 
just ready to leave her cell ; but she won't come out 
before the old queen has left. Oh, no ! she'll take 
care of that — or rather the royal nurses will." 

'* Indeed ; why?" 

*' Because the old queen would try to get at her, 
and sting her to death. You females are so jealous 
and spiteful ! " answered the drone. 

** I ain't a female ! " cried Buz. 

** Yes, you are, though ; all you working bees are 
undeveloped females. Suppose now we had been 
in want of a queen, and we had picked you out as a 
grub, and enlarged your cell and fed you on royal 
bread : why, you would have become a queen ! 
Actually you ! " 

'' Really ? " 

'^Yes, really; but it's too XdX^now ; no chance for 
you now, my dear ; so you needn't be proud." 

^'I'm not a bit proud," cried Buz. 



Swarming. 5 5 



'' No, I see you're not; on the contrary, you are 
condescending enough to come and speak to poor 
me ! I feel the honor deeply, I assure you." 

He said these last words in such a nasty, sarcastic 
manner that Buz determined to leave him. '' Poor 
fellow!'* she thought, *' this noise and excitement 
must have made him cross." And indeed the con- 
fusion and hurrying about increased every minute. 

'' Good-by, Mr. Drone, said Buz. *' I really am 
much obliged to you for what you have told 
me." 

'' Fm quite overwhelmed," said the drone, getting 
more disagreeable than ever. '' Your politeness is 
something imperial. Are you sure you didn't get 
hold of any royal bread? Are you sure you ain't a 
queen? Just make certain of it — do! Fly out of 
the hive and see if the other bees won't swarm round 
you. They maj/. And what shall I do," he went 
on, " to show my respect ? Shall I stick here waxed 
to the floor all the rest of my life in case you want 
to come back and ask any more questions ? Only 
say the word. What ! going off in a huff, are you ? 
That's right, follow your temper — and make haste, 
or you'll never recover it ! " 

These last words were thrown after Buz, as she 
hurried away without trusting herself to speak. To 



56 Buz. 

tell the truth, she was getting a little afraid of the 
drone, who seemed to have lost all command over 
himself ; and she was so excited about the swarm- 
ing that his words affected her less than they would 
otherwise have done ; at the same time, it was 
exceedingly disagreeable to be so misjudged. 
"' Though I brought it on myself," she thought ; ^' and 
it shows what a mistake it is to keep on asking ques- 
tions when you see a person's out of temper. I'll 
never do it again, I'll be stung if I do ! " 

Saying this, she ran round the corner of a comb 
in a great hurry, to see where the queen was, and 
what might be going on, and knocked up against a 
bee coming just as hastily in the other direction. 
It was Hum ! — positively Hum ! Only imagine her 
being excited about any thing but work ! Buz was 
quite amused. 

**Then you mean to swarm too, I suppose," she 
said. 

'' Well, no," answered Hum ; '' I think not. I 
couldn't very well, you know." 

'* I'm sure I dont know," said Buz. 

*^ I've got into such a groove here, don't you see, 
that I'm almost afraid I couldn't bear to leave it. 
I know where every thing is now, and exactly where 
to go; and besides, I've got a " Here Hum 



Swarming, 57 



stopped short, as if she had said rather more than 
she meant to. 

*^ Got a what ? " asked Buz. 

*'Well, dear, I'm afraid you'll think it foolish of 
me — I know you wouldn't consider it a reason your- 
self, and I dare say you're right ; but the fact is " 

and here Hum fidgeted about nervously, as if she 
was a little ashamed, ^* the fact is, I've got a cell that 
I am filling with honey all by myself ; it's up in a 
corner, out of the way, and I couldn't bear to go 
before it was full. You understand, don't you?" 
concluded she, almost pleadingly. 

^* I think I understand whdiiyou feel, though I don't 
fancy I should mind leaving it myself. Well, I shall 
be very sorry to part from you, for you're the best 
bee in the world. I really have half a mind to stay," 
continued Buz suddenly ; '' I feel as if you would 
keep me out of scrapes." 

" Oh, please don't let me prevent you from going !" 
cried Hum ; ^^it would never do. I'm sure you are 
just the sort of person to join the swarm ; you are 
so bold and active. I shall often think of you, dear 
Buz, and long to know how you are getting on ; but 
we should seldom meet here you know, even if you 
were to remain." 

^* That's true," said Buz, thoughtfully; ''and 



58 Buz, 

after all, something tells me I ought to join 
the swarm. But, I say," added she briskly, '' what 
is the state of the case exactly, for I hardly 
know? " 

" I do," answered Hum. " I came straight from 
the queen when we met." 

"Tell me all about it then." 

** It seems that even yesterday the queen became 
restless, and said something about changing her 
house. I have it on good authority, for one of the 
royal attendents told me as much." 

"Told you she said that? " 

"Well, hardly; in fact, it's difficult to say exactly 
what she did tell me. She kept on hinting: she 
said, * there might be changes before long, and what 
should I think of that ? ' — and ' the queen might 
use her wings before long, and what should I 
think of that?' — and 'because a certain royal 
person chose to live a certain time in a certain 
house, did it follow that that royal person was 
never to change her residence ? ' — and so on, you 
know." 

" I hate that ! " cried Buz. " Why couldn't she 
tell you outright, or leave it alone altogether?" 

" It does appear foolish, when one comes to think 
of it," said Hum ; " especially when one recollects 






Swarming, 59 



all the nods and whispers ; but at the time, I sup- 
pose, it makes a person seem important ; and I 
caught myself nodding mysteriously, and whispering 
too : very silly of me, to be sure ! " 

'' Why, yes," said Buz. '' I wish you had laughed 
at her, or, at any rate, pretended not to understand ; 
but it can't be helped. What's the news this morn- 
ing?" 

'' Nothing has actually happened yet, but the 
queen gets more restless every moment, and an old 
bee — one who has been in a swarm already— told me 
that she quite expected she would leave the hive to- 
day. I know I can't settle down to any thing. It's 
wretched work ! " 

" Come along," said Buz ; '' I want to be near the 
queen, and watch her." 

The two friends were separated before they 
reached the royal presence, for great numbers of 
bees were crowding round. Buz soon pushed her 
way into a good place, and, just as she got there she 
heard- the queen say to herself, ^* I've a very good 
mind to do it. Is it fine?" she asked, turning to 
her attendants. 

"It is, your majesty," answered several. 

" A very good mind," continued the queen to her- 
self ; " my family is becoming inconveniently large, 



6o Buz. 

and this house doesn't do: it gets hot, much too 
hot. That's one reason, and there are two or three 
others." 

** She means by that/' said a bee very softly to 
Buz, ^^ that there are two or three royal grubs just 
ready to come out ; but she doesn't like alluding to 
them, even to herself." 

*' Too proud ? " asked Buz, in a whisper. 

" Too proud," answered the bee, with a confiden- 
tial nod. 

The queen was now close to them. 

*^ I declare, I think I'll do it to-day," she repeated. 
'' Did you say it was fine ?" she added aloud, turn- 
ing to her attendants. 

** Very fine, your majesty," said they. 

'* Fine enough^ eh?" asked the queen. 

" Fine enough for any things your majesty," said 
the attendants, who were prevented by court eti- 
quette from seeming to know what orders the queen 
was about to give, though every one knew perfectly 
well that every bee in the hive knew all about it. 
Curious, perhaps ; but the laws of etiquette are 
curious — very. 

^^ I hear a great noise," said the queen. " What 
is it?" 

It was no wonder she did. Thousands of bees 



Swarming. 6 1 



were darting backward and forward just at the mouth 
of the hive, and the air was filled with a roaring 
sound. But the attendants appeared to be quite 
astonished. 

*' We'll go and inquire, your majesty/* they re- 
plied. 

They did so, and, returning immediately, said, 
'*A few of your majesty's subjects are loitering 
about near the entrance, your majesty ; would your 
majesty wish them to disperse? " 

" No matter," said the queen. *^ A few, did you 
say.f^ 

** Well, more than ^few, perhaps, your majesty," 
replied the attendants, looking one at another ; 
'' more than di few,'' 

'* Are there enough, do you think?" asked the 
queen carelessly. ^' Are there as many as there 
ought to be? " 

*' There are enough for aity thing, your majesty." 

** And the day, you say, is fine enough ? " 

** For any thing, your majesty." 

The excitement was becoming quite intense. 

The queen, after showing great restlessness and 
indecision for several moments, suddenly grew calm, 
and, standing in the center of the circle dravv'n 
respectfully round her, gave a few shrill squeaks, 



62 Biiz. 

and said, '^ I have made up my mind to go. Let all 
who wish to join me wait outside, and be ready to 
SWARM ! ! ! '' 

Directly she spoke the last word, there was an 
end to all restraint. It was the word so anxiously 
expected all the morning, and was now the signal 
for a general rush. It was passed round the hive in no 
time, and Buz took it up, and found herself repeating, 
like every one else, "" A swarm ! a swarm ! ! a 
swarm ! ! ! '' Meantime she pressed forward to the 
entrance. It seemed to her as if she would never 
reach it ; but then, she was in such a desperate 
hurry. At last her struggles were rewarded, and, 
with dozens of other bees, she tumbled out of the 
hive — head over heels ! any how! — and joined the 
excited mob in front. 

There she dashed backward and forward as madly 
as any one, but always watching the entrance ; 
always ready to follow the queen the moment she 
should appear. 

She had not long to wait, for her majesty soon 
presented herself, and, after looking about her, 
spread her wings and flew slowly and steadily away. 

By this time the noise was tremendous; such an 
angry noise too ! But Buz hardly heard it, she was 
so excited, so bent on keeping the queen in sight. 



Swarming, 63 



Her majesty, after taking a short flight round the 
garden, just to pick out a good place, alighted on the 
underside of one of the branches of a small stand- 
ard pear tree, and was immediately hidden by a cloud 
of about twenty thousand bees, which settled on and 
round her. 

Buz was one of the first to take up her position, 
but, hardly liking to pitch on the queen, attached 
herself to the branch close to her, and was at once 
used by several other bees as a convenient thing 
to cling to ; these in their turn were treated in the 
same way, till a lump of bees was formed as big as 
a good-sized cabbage, and Buz found it rather hard 
work to hold on. 

" It must be uncommonly hot in the middle, 
though,** she thought : ^* better be here than there/* 

At this moment the gardener approached. His 
coat was off, and his shirt-sleeves were rolled up. 
He knew the bees would not sting him for shaking 
them into the new hive he carried, but he had to 
roll up his sleeves for fear of one crawling up and 
being hurt. 

He now held the hive upside down under the 
swarm, took hold of the end of the bough on which 
it hung, and gave a sharp, strong jerk, which dis- 
lodged it and sent it right into the hive. There 



64 Buz. 

was no hesitation, no indecision about him ; it was 
all the work of a moment. Instantly, a cloud of 
bees ascended all round him, and many alighted on 
his arms, and some even on his face. Of these he 
took no notice whatever; but, seeing that a great 
cluster remained in the hive, he was satisfied that 
the queen was among them ; he then turned it over 
in its right position and stood it on four bricks 
placed on the ground, so that the bees outside could 
easily join their friends within. Having protected 
the hive from the sun with a few freshly cut boughs, 
he left the swarm alone till the evening. Buz was 
right in the middle this time, holding on like any 
thing to the bee just above her. 

When it grew dusk, the gardener came back ; and 
finding that every bee had entered the hive, he 
placed it on a flat board, and carried it off to a stand 
which had been prepared for it, close to the old hive 
from which the swarm had come. 




CHAPTER V. 

BUILDING COMB. AN ACCIDENT. STORING HONEY. 
A SURPRISE. 




OW long shall we be squeezed 
together like this ? " demanded 
Buz of a bee who was clinging 
to her. 

'' For days," answered the 
bee shortly. 

'' Come, I say,'* said Buz, 
^^you don't mean that, do 
you ? " 

'' If you don't believe me, 
ask some one else." 
Oh, I believe you, but how slow ! " 
I dare say," remarked another bee, '^ that you 



66 Biiz. 

have heard of a queen having a great many attend- 
ants hanging about her at court ; now you know 
what it means! " 

At this moment the cluster of bees began to move, 
and to spread about. 

The hive in which they had been taken was very 
different to the old straw butt they had left, their 
new abode being a square deal box without any bot- 
tom. Into the back of this box a pane of glass had 
been introduced, through which the bees might be 
watched at their work; and at the top of it was a 
short narrow slit, closed at present, but capable of 
being opened from without, by means of a zinc 
slide. 

This box was placed in a wooden cupboard, which 
stood on four legs, had a gable roof, and doors open- 
ing at the back, and was large enough to contain 
three other boxes of the same size. Horizontal 
apertures, about two inches long and just high 
enough to admit a bee, were cut in the cupboard at 
the bottom of its front, and opposite each of the 
boxes within. 

The floor of the cupboard, which was also the 
floor of the boxes, was cut away about the eighth of 
an inch deep, just underneath each of these aper- 
tures, and made to slope up toward the interior, so 



Building Comb — An Accident, 67 

that any rain driven into a hive might run out again 
at once. This pleased the bees, who hate damp 
beyond any thing. 

The swarm now began preparations for the great 
work of forming the comb ; and hung from the top, 
no longer in a ball, but in sheets or strings, about 
which the bees could freely pass. 

They formed, in fact, living scaffolding; and, as 
they themselves produced material for the building, 
all the trouble of hauling and carrying was saved. 

Each bee, besides holding on as tightly and as 
patiently as a postage-stamp, was busily employed 
in preparing plates of wax. 

These were secreted in pockets on the under side 
of the abdomen, from which the bees drew them 
when ready for use, working and molding them in 
their mouths. 

** I wonder how you can all go on so long without 
eating," remarked Buz at length in a general 
sort of way to the bees about her. 

^' In the same way that you can," answered one of 
them. 

^* Oh, / took in as much honey as ever I could, 
just before we swarmed," said Buz. 

^' Well, so we almost all did," replied her friend ; 
"• it is an instinct with bees." 



68 Buz. 

*' I wonder why/' said Buz thoughtfully. 

** It's simple enough/' returned the other. '* If 
we do not unload our honey, it is gradually formed 
into wax ; so that arriving in a new hive with honey 
is almost the same thing as arriving with wax — and 
that we must have at once. So that only those few 
bees who happened to join the swarm without being 
full of honey have gone to work. The moment the 
honey you arrived with has become wax in your 
pockets, you will pull it out, and munch away at it 
till you have munched and pulled it into good order. 
Then you will place it in position, where you see it 
is wanted, and the nurse or architect bees will work 
it into shape. Then you will go out and get a fresh 
supply of honey, and again hang yourself up till 
it turns into wax. It's simple enough, as I said 
before." 

Buz found that this was really the case, and indue 
time she deposited her bricks of wax, and left the 
architects at work, while she went off for a fresh 
supply of honey. 

The architects began by attaching some wax to 
the roof of the box, and fashioning therefrom hexa- 
gonal cells — by employing which form, the greatest 
number can be arranged in the smallest place. 

Each comb consisted of two sets of cells placed 



Binldzng Comb — A^t Accideiit, 69 

back to back. If the bottoms of these opposite sets 
of cells had been exactly opposite to each other, 
they would have been dangerously thin ; and the 
architects, knowing this very well, arranged that the 
bottom of each cell should be opposite part of the 
bottoms of three cells on the other side of the 
comb. 

In this manner, the thin plate of wax forming the 
bottom was in every case strengthened and sup- 
ported by the bases of three contingent walls behind 
it. For the bees, having so well economized their 
space, were determined not to use an atom more 
wax than was really necessary. 

" Let us be consistent all through," they said, 
*'and then we shall make a job of it." 

For nearly a week Buz stuck to her post, only 
going out occasionally. At the end of that time so 
much of the comb had been made, that she, with 
many others, was employed in gathering honey. 

It was the beginning of June, there were plenty of 
flowers about, and the honey season was good. 
Things were looking up. Fortune, however, delights 
in a practical joke, and often, so to speak, cuts a 
hammock down when the owner is most comfortably 
asleep. A terrible accident happened to the bees, 
just at the time they seemed so prosperous. 



70 Btiz, 

Whether the heat within the hive became so great 
as to melt the wax, or whether the top of the hive 
was too smooth for the comb to be securely fas- 
tened thereto, it is impossible to say ; but, whatever 
might be the cause, one of the center combs, nearly 
filled with honey, suddenly broke down, and fell to 
the bottom of the hive. 

The result was dreadful ! Numbers of bees wxre 
crushed to death or suffocated, the floor of the hive 
was deluged with honey, for the comb had not been 
sealed, and there was a barrier formed right in the 
line of traffic. 

Luckily for her, Buz was away when the accident 
happened ; and by the time she returned to the hive 
the bees were beginning to repair the mischief. 

Their first care was to collect all the honey that 
had escaped, and to store it in the empty cells. 
After that they began to clear away the broken 
pieces of comb, and to carry out the dead. 

^' Of course v/e are not going to let that great 
comb stay where it is?" said Buz softly to an older 
bee. 

^' Of course we are, though," was the reply. 
^^ Why, what a waste of time it would be to carry all 
that wax away and make a fresh comb! " 

^^ But it's so dreadfully in the way." 



Btcilding Comb — A71 Accide7it, 71 

'' We shall manage to get over that difficulty," 
said the bee confidently. 

^^How?" asked Buz. 

''Ain't you supposed to be honey-gathering?" 

''Yes, I am." 

"Gather honey then, do! You'll be able to see 
for yourself, each time you come in, how we get on 
here. I can't waste time explaining." 

Away flew Buz, and got honey as near the hive as 
she could, and worked particularly hard, so as to 
come in often ; for she was very much interested in 
what was going on. 

The fallen comb was leaning against an adjacent 
one, the bottom being of course on the floor instead 
of a little above it, thus impeding traffic. To obvi- 
ate this, tunnels were soon driven through the comb 
— beautiful arched tunnels, with waxen pillars to 
support them — while little stays and buttresses of 
wax were introduced wherever they were required, 
to make all firm and safe again. 

" Capital ! " said Buz approvingly, as she ran 
through one of the new tunnels. 

" No honey to be stored in this side of the comb," 
remarked a bee shortly. 

"All right," said Buz. 

Now Buz had nearly said "Why," instead of "All 



T2 Buz. 

right '* ; but checked herself in time, remembering 
that she had often asked unnecessary questions, and 
that she had resolved to try to find things out for 
herself. In this case she soon saw the reason 
why. 

The comb was leaning over a little, and of course 
any honey put into a cell on the side toward which 
it leaned, would run out again. 

" I'm glad I didn't ask," thought Buz ; "' and now 
that I'm about it, I'll just examine one of the other 
combs." 

She did so, and found that the cells on each side 
sloped upward, ever so little, but enough to prevent 
thick stuff like honey from running out. 

''Let me see," said Buz to herself, as she turned 
away, *' how will they use the side that can't be 
employed for honey?" 

Just at this moment there was a bustle close to 
her, and she saw the queen making toward the 
fallen comb. 

''Oh, I know," thought Buz : "the queen will lay 
eggs in it ; it will do very well Jor a breeding comb, 
of course." 

Buz was right. The queen, with ten or twelve 
attendants round her, passed over the comb, exam- 
ining each cell before she deposited an egg within 



Btiilding Comb — An Accident, 73 

it. Whenever she rested, which she frequently did, 
the members of her suite, who formed a sort of 
screen round her, overwhelmed her with their 
attention and caresses, and offered her honey. In 
one cell the queen inadvertently deposited two 
eggs ; the watchful attendants, much too polite to 
call her majesty's attention to this, quietly took one 
out and ate it. 

After Buz had looked on for some little time, she 
asked one of the suite how many eggs the queen 
could lay in a day. 

** A couple of hundred, or even more," was the 
answer. 

** Does she often have an egg-laying day ? " 

*^ She lays eggs every day — for months. She does 
nothing else." 

"' Well," thought Buz as she flew off, ** no won- 
der there are such a lot of us ! " 

For several weeks Buz worked very hard, and 
met with no adventures. It was the busy time, 
and a fine lot of honey was collected and sealed 
up. 

One morning, as she was passing near the middle 
of the hive, she saw a good many bees employed on 
a large cell, which was attached to the comb only at 
one spot. 



74 Buz. 

*' Ah 1 " said Buz to herself, '* I know what that 
is. That's a royal cell : I remember seeing some in 
the old hive." 

She stood and watched, and presently observed 
to one of the workers, '' What a lot of wax you are 
using, to be sure ! '* 

*' I should think so, indeed,** was the reply. ** I 
don't suppose you'd wish us to be careful of our 
wax when we're making a royal cell — that would be 
mean ! " 

*' Oh, no ! " cried Buz, '' of course I shouldn't ; 
only it seems funny, don't you know. Ever since I 
swarmed I have heard nothing but, * Economize 
your space; economize your material' ; and now, here 
you are, seeing how much wax you can get rid of 
at once ! I like it myself, mind, only I can't help 
observing that there is enough wax there to make 
fifty ordinary cells." 

'^ If I didn't think that there was," returned the 
other, '' I should feel quite ashamed to be on the 
job. Bees don't economize where royalty is con- 
cerned." 

She said this very stiffly, and walked away. Buz 
rubbed her head and antennae with her fore legs, 
and felt rather snubbed. 

Just at this moment there was a sudden movement 



Building Comb — An Accident, 75 

of bees upward, and Buz was off directly to see 
what was the matter. 

On reaching the top of the hive, she joined a number 
of bees who were crowding through a hole in the 
roof, and found herself at once in a fine open space 
above. Here a bee was gesticulating excitedly with 
her antennae, and Buz joined the group of listeners 
round her. 

"All I know is,'* said the bee, *'that I happened 
to be at work on the roof just underneath where 
this hole has appeared. Everything was quite 
secure, nothing loose at all. There was no passage 
up, not even a very little one — that I'm sure of; and 
then, all of a sudden there was ! I heard a kind of a 
tearing, scraping sound, and it became quite light ! I 
saw this hole, ran up as fast as I could, and found 
myself here. That's all I can tell you." 

" But was there nothing moving near the top of 
the hole when you came through?" asked one of 
the bees. 

"Certainly not : that's the odd part of it. Every 
thing was as quiet as possible. Now, any one may 
account for it who can. I can't." ^ 

As the bee moved away after saying this. Buz ran 

* The gardener had drawn back the slide at the top of the hive, 
and placed a glass super in position for the bees to fill. 



76 Buz. 

off on a tour of inspection. She found herself in a 
space about half the size of the hive below ; the 
walls and roof were very slippery, and the light 
came through them. 

She climbed up the side and got to the roof, but 
had hardly reached it when she lost her footing and 
fell with a flop on to the floor. 

As she stood rather confused for a moment, a 
friend of hers came up and said, '' Isn't this a piece 
of luck ! We had nearly filled the place below with 
wax and honey, and now here's room for lots 
more." 

"' Yes," replied Buz ; '' I was wondering the other 
day what we should do for space : it was getting so 
hot, too." 

** Oh, we should have been obliged to send off a 
swarm, I suppose, when a young queen was hatched ; 
but now we shall get on without that." 

^* What shall we do with the young queen then ? " 
demanded Buz. 

*' Oh, let the old one kill her, I suppose," said the 
bee unconcernedly, '^or starve the royal grubs, or 
something. I don't know," she continued, ** if eggs 
have been laid in the royal cells yet ; I rather think 
not, in which case the queen won't lay any at all 
now." 



Building Coinb — An Accident. jy 

As she spoke, something came down on her head 
with a great bump. It was a bee, who, like Buz, 
had tried the roof and had met with a similar mis- 
hap. The floor and sides of the new space were by 
this time covered with bees, and some were contin- 
ually falling down. 

*' I can tell you what," said Buz sagaciously ; *'it 
will be very difficult work, fastening up our comb." 

*' It may be difficult, but it is not impossible. 
We shall therefore manage it," said the bee who had 
just fallen. '' When we have fastened a few little 
specks of wax about, to hold on to, we shall be able 
to manage. I wish it wasn't quite so light, though ; 
I like working in the dark." 

She had hardly spoken the words, when some- 
thing came down on the roof and round the walls, 
and in a moment the place was quite dark. ^ 

" There ! " said Buz ; ** you Ve got your wish : but 
what will happen next, I wonder? " 

** Whatever happens, I shall begin to work at 
once," was the reply; ''so, come on." 

'' Come on," said Buz. 

*The gardener placed a cap of felt, or other thick material, over 
the super. 



CHAPTER VI. 



A SECOND SWARM. IDLE HOURS. SENT BACK. 



NE day, when the heather was 
in bloom, Buz went off to Cot- 
helestone Hill, and while she 
was at work a sudden shower 
came on. 

This drove her for shelter 
under a rock, where she nearly 
ran against another bee, which 
had entered from the opposite 
direction. 

'' Hulloa ! " cried Buz. 
'^ Hulloa ! '' said the other ; 
'' where do you come from ? I don't know your 
smell.'* 

" Very likely not,'' answered Buz, who did not 




A Second Swarm — Idle Hours. 79 

admire the manner of the other bee ; '' what of that? 
I suppose I have as much right here as you ? " 

** Don't be waxy," replied the other ; '* I said very 
little/' 

" But you didn't say it nicely, I thought," retorted 
Buz. 

'' Well, you <^r<f particular ! " exclaimed the other. 
" How I should like to know where you come from." 

** Oh, a long way from here," said Buz : " from the 
valley at the foot of the hill. We live in a garden, 
where there are several other swarms." 

'' How very odd ! " 

^^ Why odd?" asked Buz. 

** Well, I suppose you're always fighting ; and 
that's an odd state of things, isn't it? " 

*' It would be, if it were the case ; but then you see 
it isn't." 

*' That's odder still. Now we should fight tre- 
mendously if another swarm came near us." 

'* Should you really?" asked Buz. 

*' There's a hollow tree not far from ours," answered 
the other bee significantly ; ** take it and try." 

** A hollow tree ! " echoed Buz contemptuously ; 
" I should be sorry to live in one." 

'' What do you live in, then ? " 

"A hive, to be sure." 



8o Buz, 

** And what may that be?" 

*' Why, the house in which we were taken when 
we swarmed." 

'* Taken ! " cried the wild bee. ^' Ah ! I begin to 
understand : I've heard of that sort of thing before ; 
then you're a slave bee, I suppose? " 

** You're a rude bee, I'm sure," retorted Buz. 

"' Am I ? I only mean, that the honey you make 
is not for yourselves, but for whoever shook you into 
the hive you seem so proud of." 

** I should just like to see anyone taking our 
honey," said Buz. '' Whoever came to do it, would 
have to be very fond of honey, or care very little 
about stings." 

^* That sounds fine," replied the wild bee ; '' but I 
have heard some curious stories. Let me advise you 
to make a few inquiries when you return. I maybe 
wrong, of course ; but then, you know, I may be 
right." 

" I don't mind asking about it," returned Buz ; 
** but you must be wrong." 

** Why so ? " asked the wild bee. 

*^ Because, if what you say is true, it is ridiculous 
to suppose that any bees would live as we do now. 
We should fly right away, of course, and even put up 
with a hollow tree, perhaps." 



A Second Swarm — Idle Hours, 8i 

** That's all very well," answered the wild bee ; 
** but when people once get into a groove, they are 
slow to get out of it : to make up one's mind to a 
thorough change, requires a deal of energy." 

''Don't you call swarming a thorough change? " 
demanded Buz. '* I found no difificulty in making 
up my mind about that." 

** There you only followed an old custom, and did 
not strike out a new line. However, as the storm is 
over, suppose we go on with our work ; mine being 
to gather honey for myself, and yours to gather it — 
for someone else." 

*' Put it as you please," replied Buz ; " always 
remembering that I don't want your opinion." 

'* In the same way," answered the wild bee, '* gather 
for whom you please ; always remembering that I 
don't want your honey. Good-by." And away 
she flew. 

As Buz followed her example, and went to 
work again, she could not help admitting to herself 
that there was something in what had been said. 
''When I get back to the hive," she thought, "I'll 
just talk the matter over." 

In the evening, therefore, she asked one of the 
older bees whether what she had heard was true." 

" No doubt it is," was the answer. " This very 



82 Buz, 

spring, a fine super of honey was taken from the hive 
next to ours, and a lot of excitement it caused ; 
surely you remember? " 

'' No, I don't," said Buz. 

'' It must have been just before you were hatched 
then." 

** But what were they all about?" cried Buz, 
excitedly ; ** why did they let their honey go ? 
Couldn't they sting ? " 

'^ I heard one of them say that they tried at first, 
and that something prevented them from getting 
near the robbers — something soft ; and besides, there 
was so much honey running about, that they were 
busy sucking it up ; and, what with the excitement 
and what with being glutted with honey, very few 
of them felt like fighting." 

'' Then my rude acquaintance at the top of the 
hill was not very far from right after all," said Buz 
thoughtfully. 

'' She was right to a certain extent, but there's 
another side to the question." 

'' Indeed," cried Buz ; '' I should like to know it." 

*'The tradition is, that those who rob us look after 
us in the winter, and supply us with food if our 
honey runs short ; so we need never starve. Now, I 
have heard, that after a bad honey season whole 



A Second Szuarm — Idle Hours, 83 

swarms of wild bees are starved to death. Then 
again, our hive is much more convenient than a 
hollow tree : dryer and warmer, and with a better 
entrance. IVe seen some pretty good hollow trees 
in my time, certainly; but there's nothing like a 
hive after all." 

Buz was somewhat consoled by this, but still felt 
indignant at the idea of being liable to lose any of 
the beautiful honey she had worked so hard for. 

*^Wait till some one tries it on with us," said she 
to herself. '' Not sting, indeed ! We'll see about 
that." 

Soon after this. Buz began to find her present 
hive almost as inconveniently crowded as the one 
she had left ; the super was nearly filled with comb, 
and that was half full of honey ; the queen had laid 
a great many eggs in the hive below, and the young 
bees were daily emerging from their cells. 

Some of the grubs, also, in the royal cells were 
nearly ready to come out. 

A feverish excitement, similar to that which she 
remembered on a former occasion, began to set in, 
and the queen frequently squeaked. 

This time, however. Buz made up her mind to 
remain where she was. 

*' Tm getting too old," she told herself, '' for 



84 Buz. 

knocking about ; let the youngsters do the 
swarming." 

But although she was inclined to be patronizing 
toward the ''youngsters," she could not help feeling 
surprised at her disinclination for change and excite- 
ment ; she was even a little sorry for herself. 

The fact is, she had become a middle-aged bee, 
and was beginning to go down the hill — a fact which 
it is not always pleasant to look in the face. 

And now the queen became more excited than 
ever, and sometimes attempted to tear open the 
royal cells and kill the poor little princesses. She 
was prevented from doing so by the royal nurses, 
who were respectful, but very firm. 

'' Though it's a tremendous thing, mind you," 
said one nurse to the other, '' to find oneself tackling 
the queen herself, and preventing her from doing 
what she likes." 

'' It certainly is," said the other ; ''but she knows 
it is only our duty." 

Opinions in the hive began to differ as to whether 
it would be better to let the queen kill the young 
ones, or to send off a swarm. Some thought it was 
too late in the year ; others declared that any thing 
would be better than being so crowded. 

A particularly hot day settled the question, and 



A Second Swarm — Idle Hours. 85 

those who were in favor of a swarm ^' had it." 
Then began the same sort of orderly confusion des- 
cribed before, and away flew the queen, with many 
of her loving subjects, but without Buz. 

After the swarm had left, the latter felt disinclined 
to work : she was a little upset, and wanted a gossip. 

There was no difficulty in finding a bee similarly 
disposed, for work in the hive was slack that after- 
noon.*^ 

*' Bother the pollen," grumbled a bee, as she was 
passing Buz ; ''how it does stick to one, to be sure ; 
but this is the last lot I bring in this blessed day. 
My name is ' easy ' for the rest of the afternoon." 

''And so is mine," cried Buz ; " let us go to the 
garden, and sit in the sun." 

"All right," said the other; "just wait till I un- 
load ; I won't be a minute." 

As soon as she returned, the two bees flew off 
together. 

" We are not the only ones who are taking it 
easy," observed her friend to Buz, as they settled 
comfortably on a cucumber frame in a corner ; " I 

* It is a fact that bees do not work so hard after a swarm has left ; 
and it is sometimes necessary to send it back to the hive, in order that 
a half-filled super may be completed. If the queen be caught and 
removed, the swarm will return. 



86 Buz. 

heard several bees say they intended to knock off 
work." 

" After all/' she continued, '' why should we take 
any more trouble. We had nearly made honey 
enough to carry us through the winter, and now we 
shall not want so much, in consequence of that 
swarm having gone off." 

'* Exactly so," replied Buz ; ** we have enough, 
and to spare. I don't mean to say," she continued, 
after a pause, '' that I intend to do nothing at all — 
that wouldn't suit me ; but I do not mean to hurry 
up. I've worked pretty well all through the summer, 
though I say it myself, and made honey enough to 
support half a dozen drones. By the by, talking of 
drones, why should I make honey for those lazy 
fellows ? " 

'* Can't say," replied her friend ; '' I don't see the 
fun of it myself. But, do you know," she continued, 
sinking her voice, '' I hear they are not likely to eat 
much more honey in our hive." 

'' What do you mean ? " asked Buz. " The stupid 
great things are always hungry. ^ The less I do, 
the more I want,' seems, in fact, to be their motto." 

'^ Well, what I tell you is quite between ourselves, 
of course," said her friend ; '' but, mark my words 
— we shall get rid of them, and that before long." 



A Second Swarm — Idle Hours. 87 

''Oh, my queen!" cried Buz. ''You astonish 
me ! How shall we manage it ? " 

"The working bees will rise against them, and 
turn them out of the hive ; see if they don't. Why 
should we keep them all through the winter? That's 
what I want to know.'' 

" Why indeed?" said Buz hastily; and then con. 
tinued after a pause : " If we do get rid of them, there 
is all the more reason for our taking a little holiday 
now ; for we shall have plenty of honey." 

'* My sentiments exactly," returned her friend ; 
" but as I feel inclined for a little on my own account, 
I shall have a turn at the flower-beds. What do you 
say ? " 

'* Come on," said Buz, and away they flew. 

Later on, when they returned to the hive, they 
were surprised to see a great commotion, and crowds 
of bees pouring in. 

" What is all this bustle about ? " asked Buz of the 
first bee she encountered. " Is any thing the mat- 
ter?" 

"Ever so much," was the answer. "There has 
been an accident, and the swarm that left so lately is 
returning." 

" Indeed! " cried Buz ; "but what accident could 
possibly induce the old queen to come back? " 



88 Buz. 

"" Nothing would ever have induced her to do 
such a thing/' replied the other; ^'but" — and 
here she spoke very impressively — "• she has disap- 
peared ! " 

''Disappeared!" echoed Buz. '^Oh, how? Do 
tell me more about it." 

" If you want to know the particulars, ask one of 
those who joined the swarm : I didn't." 

Buz lost no time in following her advice. 

'' I'll tell you all I know," said the bee she ques- 
tioned, ''but I can't quite understand it myself. 
Our poor queen settled on a branch of a small apple 
tree, and we all clung round her of course ; and there 
we hung in a big bunch — in such a big bunch, that 
I really thought the branch we were on would come 
off. After a short time, something gave such a jerk 
that we all fell off into something, and it was very 
uncomfortable. Most of us kept crawling about, 
not liking to leave the queen ; but some flew up, 
to see what was the matter." 

*' I should have been one of those," put in 
Buz. 

*' Well, so was I, my dear ; and I found that the 
thing that had done it was the man we always see 
about the garden, and the thing he had shaken us 
into was a kind of box like this." 



A Second Swarm — Idle Hours. 89 

*' I know," said Buz; ** that's just what happened 
tome. Well?" 

** Well, the man carried us off to where some- 
thing large and white was lying on the ground, 
and upset us on to it, and we all began to run 
about." "^ 

*' Hulloa ! " interrupted Buz : '' that didn't happen 
to me." 

" I had joined the others in the box," continued 
the bee, "just in time to be upset; and found 
myself close to the queen, who did not attempt to fly, 
but kept on crawling in underneath us, wherever we 
were thickest. Presently the man began to paddle 
among us with his hands, and he rolled us about a 
good deal, I can tell you ; but he was not rough 
enough to hurt us, and we really were too much aston- 
ished to be angry. This went on for some time, 
when all of a sudden I missed the queen. I ran 
about, asking every one, * Have you seen the queen ? 
Have you seen the queen?' And presently I came 
across others asking the same question. We didn't 
know what to do, or what to think, and there we 
were, hunting round and round. At last, a bee who 
had been near the queen at the moment, told us 

* The gardener had spread a sheet on the ground, on which to shake 
out the bees, in order the more easily to find the queen. 



90 Buz, 

that she had seen her caught up between two great 
things, and that she had disappeared all in a moment 
— that was all she could tell us.'* 

*' But what was that bee about ? '' cried Buz. 
^* Surely she did something ? " 

*^ She said it was all so sudden and unexpected, 
that she didn't know what to do. She thought it 
must be the man ; but he was walking quietly away, 
and by the time she had recovered herself, and made 
sure that the queen was gone, it was too late to do 
any thing." 

^' Oh dear ! but this is all very bad," said Buz. 
'' What next ? " 

" Why, the next thing we did was to come back 
here. You see," added the bee apologetically, '' we 
had no queen, no honey, and no hive ; so what were 
we to do ? " 

*^ I don't know," answered Buz; **but /should 
have felt ashamed to return." 

*^ So did we ; we felt very much ashamed, and have 
had to listen to all sorts of disagreeable remarks 
since ; but what were we to do, you know — no queen, 
no honey, and no hive ! What on earth were we to 
do?" 

The bee moved off as she said these words, and 
went away grumbling to herself : " It's all very 



A Second Swarm — Idle Hours. 



91 



well ; but what were we to do, I should like to 
know ? " 

Buz, having no answer ready, let her go, but felt a 
good deal put out by what had happened, and very 
much inclined to do something to somebody. 




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CHAPTER VII. 

DISCONTENTED WHISPERS. A STORMY DISPUTE. 
THE M/VSSACRE OF THE DRONES. 



N the following morning, the 
hive seemed to Buz very in- 
conveniently crowded ; and not 
being in the best of tempers, 
she was disgusted to find the 
passage along which she was 
hurrying between the combs, 
nearly blocked by a lot of 
drones. 

'' Bother the lazy things," 
said she to herself, as she 
pushed past them ; *' I've no patience with them.*' 




Discontented Whispers. 93 

'' No more have I," cried another bee, who hap- 
pened to overhear her, *' and I'm glad to find you're 
of the same opinion. But I can tell you what it is," 
she continued, when they had reached the entrance, 
" there is quite a strong feeling growing up against 
them, and they had better look out for themselves.'* 

** Ah ! " said Buz ; 'Tm not surprised at what you 
say; I heard only yesterday that they were likely to 
have a bad time of it soon." 

^* It is getting to be the common talk of the hive," 
said the other ; ^' and now that the swarm which left 
us yesterday has returned, we shall want more 
room and more honey than we expected." 

'^As for honey," said Buz, '' that's very true. I 
had not intended to work much more ; but now, I 
suppose we must fill every bit of comb we have 
made." 

"And as for room,*' said the other bee, "I think 
I can tell you how we shall get that." 

She spoke very slowly and deliberately, and 
tapped Buz*s antennae with her own in a very mean- 
ing way. 

"• I understand you,** said Buz.* '^ Down with the 
drones, say I." 

*' When the time comes," replied the other, mys- 
teriously. 



94 Buz. 

*7ust so," assented Buz; '* when the time 
comes." 

With this understanding they parted, and Buz 
began work again in earnest, stowing the honey she 
collected in the glass super. All the other bees 
did the same, and were as busy as ever they had 
been before the swarm went off. 

Every day, however, honey became more and 
more difficult to get, and the combs filled slowly. 

This, again, was bad for the drones ; for the 
scarcer honey was, the more valuable did the 
stores already collected appear to the bees, who at 
last could scarcely bear to see a drone go near a 
honey-cell. 

The latter, however, appeared not to observe how 
unpopular they were becoming, and went about the 
hive as usual. 

But the time expected came at last ! One day, 
as Buz, who had just returned to the hive with 
some honey, was storing it away in the super, she 
overheard a dispute between a drone and a working 
bee. 

"' No, you shall not," cried the latter, ** not while 
I am here." 

" Get out of the way, can't you," answered the 
drone. 



Discontented Whispers. 95 

** I can, but I won't," replied the other. 

** Do you suppose I care for you?" cried the 
drone. '' I want some honey, and I mean to have it." 

** Then take it from a cell already opened," 
answered the working bee, ** and don't break into a 
new comb." 

*^ I shall take it, " said the drone deliberately, 
'*from any comb and from any cell I choose." 

" If you can," retorted the other. 

" Who's to prevent me, I should like to know ? " 

** I, for one." 

"You, indeed ! " cried the drone angrily. " How 
dare you talk in that saucy way to one of the queen's 
husbands." 

"Queen's fiddlesticks ! " replied the other con- 
temptuously. " The queen does not want a lot of 
idle, good-for-nothing fellows like you loitering 
about the hive, I can tell you. Go and ask her." 

" No, I shall not," replied the drone sulkily. 

" I knew you wouldn't ; you dare not go near her ; 
she never takes any notice of you now, and is tired 
of your idle habits, as indeed we all are." 

Here there was a hum of approval from a small 
crowd of workers, who had collected as the dispute 
went on. 

" Well, I don't care," said the drone. " I'm tired 



96 Buz. 

of standing here, that's all I know ; so * out of the 
way,' I say again, for I mean to have the honey." 

*'Out of this cell, which I have just sealed up, 
you don't get it," returned the other firmly. 

" For my part, I don't see why he should get it 
from any cell in the hive," remarked a bee who was 
standing near Buz. 

^' HuUoa! " cried the drone, turning angrily round 
on the last speaker; ''and pray who vi\d.y you be?'^ 

'' One who earns her honey before she eats it," 
was the reply. 

'* Well said, indeed ! " cried the bee with whom 
the drone had been disputing. 

As the drone turned indignantly round again, he 
bumped against Buz, who instantly ran at him, and 
gave him a good push, which sent him against 
another bee. 

*^ Now then, where are you shoving to ? " cried the 
latter, pushing him back. ''Get out of the way." 

" He's always in the way ! " cried one. 

** And always eating ! " said another. 

** Why don't you go out and get your own honey ? " 
demanded a third. 

" I don't choose to leave the hive, except in the 
very finest weather," replied the drone. 

" Here's a pretty fellow for you," cried Buz ; ^' he 



Discontented Whispers, 97 

doesn't choose^ indeed ! " And she gave him another 
push. 

" I vote we turn him out," cried another bee, 
pushing him back. 

** Yes, and keep him out/' said a third. 

"Out with him ! " cried several bees at once. 

" Down with the drones ! Out with them ! Turn 
them all out ! " was the general cry. 

And the drone, now beginning to be really fright- 
ened, was pushed backward and forward in the 
midst of a crowd of workers. At last, in answer to 
the cries. Buz and another bee caught firmly hold of 
the drone, and began dragging him toward the 
entrance. 

But he was strong and heavy, and did not want to 
go at all, and struggled hard. 

" Push behind there,'* cried the bee who was help- 
ing Buz. 

** Not all of you, though,'* added Buz. "• Are there 
no other drones in the hive ? " 

This produced new cries of ^^ Out with them ! " 
'^ Down with the. drones ! " " Turn them out ! " and 
parties of bees, hastening in every direction through 
the hive, fastened on the drones, and dragged them 
toward the entrance. 

As he was being pulled and pushed round a corner. 



98 Buz. 

the drone with whom Buz was occupied got such a 
firm hold, that he resisted for a long time all efforts 
to dislodge him. 

^'If nothing else will do," panted the bee who was 
helping Buz, *^ Til just slip my sting into him : that 
will soon settle the fellow." 

'^ Oh, give the poor wretch a chance,*' said Buz. 
'* It seems a shame to sting him, as he has no sting 
himself." 

** All right then," returned her friend; *' but we 
shall be a long time clearing the hive at this rate." 

'* Now," cried Buz, *^ all together ! " and, making a 
grand effort, they dislodged the drone, and got him 
on to the floor of the hive. Thence, by dint of pull- 
ing and pushing, and tumbling over and dragging 
him, they at last reached the footboard outside. 

'' Now," said they, '' clear off ! " 

** Where ? " said the drone. *' Oh, dear me ! 
Where?" 

** Anywhere you like," was the reply. *^ You want 
honey, don't you ? There's the whole world before 
you, and plenty of flowers in it ; so be off." 

*^ But at night," cried the drone, ''when it gets 
dark and cold, what shall I do then ? " 

'' Whatever you like," answered the bees. ''We 
don't seem to care very much." 



Discontented Whispers. 99 

'' But I shall die ! I shall die ; I know I shall ! *' 
cried the drone piteously. 

'* Very likely ; but that isn't ourbusiness, so good- 
by. We really can't stand here arguing with you all 
day." 

'* Please let me in again ; do let me in," pleaded 
the drone. *' I would creep away into a corner, and 
do nobody any harm." 

" Oh, yes, you would ; for, without being of any 
use, you would take up a certain amount of room, 
and eat a certain amount of honey, and we have 
none of either to spare. Now go." 

But the drone seemed too much overcome to 
move, and lay helplessly down, close to the edge of 
the footboard. 

Buz and the other bees pushed him over, and, 
hardly making an effort to fly, he fell to the ground 
and remained there. 

At this time the scene was most exciting: there 
were parties of bees in every direction. Some were 
carrying the dead bodies of drones who had made so 
much resistance, that, losing patience with them, 
their captors had stung them to death. Others 
dragged along unresisting victims ; and others again 
were engaged with obstinate drones, who fought and 
tumbled the whole way. Some of the drones took 

L.oiC. 



loo Buz. 

wing of their own accord the moment they were 
released on the footboard ; others behaved like the 
one that Buz had first taken out; and, allowing 
themselves to be pushed over the edge of the foot- 
board, lay among the bodies of those that had been 
killed. 

At last the hive was quite cleared of them. 

*^ Double the sentries, and admit no drones,'* were 
. the orders given. 

But none dared to return ; the night came on cold 
and wet, and before the sun rose next morning every 
drone was dead. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

DEATH OF HUM. ROBBERY. RESTITUTION. 



^ OR the next few days Buz kept 
steadily at work, and the combs 
in the super were at last filled a^d 
sealed up. They were quite beau- 
tiful ! clean, regular, and of a 
golden straw color : the wax was 
K^^^^ thin and transparent ; and as no 
^ ^^^K ^SS^ ^^^ been laid in the super, 
it was all virgin honey — a perfect 
^^^^^^^, picture ! 

Buz had now plenty of leisure, 
but she spent a good deal of her time in the hive ; 
for the days began to get short, and the nights long 
and cold, and the sun himself was lazy about getting 
up in the morning. 




I02 Buz. 

And Buz began to feel that the bright beautiful 
summer of her life was over too ; and she remem- 
bered with tenderness the lovely mornings she had 
known, when the sun, streaming early into the hive, 
had tempted her away to flowery fields and pleasant 
gardens ; when the dew-drops, sparkling so brightly 
on the gossamer webs, seemed strings of fairy dia- 
monds ; and when the flowers, fresh from their 
night^s rest, lifted up their heads and shook out their 
petals, and offered her all their store of honey ; and 
then she thought of Hum, dear, gentle Hum, in 
whose company she had enjoyed her first exper- 
iences. 

. *^ I declare I will go to the old hive again, as soon 
as I can," said she to herself, '' and try to find out 
how she is getting on. They won't let me in, I sup- 
pose ; but I may hear something of her. I quite 
long to see her once more.'' 

So the very next day, when the sun shone out for 
a time. Buz paid a visit to her former home. 

What was her disappointment, however, to find 
that the old hive was gone ! 

As she approached, and was about to alight on the 
footboard, a sight met her eyes that caused her to 
dart aside. On the board itself, and lying in heaps 
upon the ground beneath, were thousands of dead 



Death of Hum — Robbery — Restitution, 103 

bees. Pieces of breeding-comb were lying about, 
and a sickly smell filled the air all round. It was a 
hideous wreck — a pitiable end ! 

^^ What horrible thing can have happened ? " 
thought Buz, as she flew wildly about. '^ And what 
can have become of poor dear Hum? When I 
remember the orderly life we used to lead here, the 
busy work, the watchful sentries, the combs full of 
promising grubs, and the rich stores of beautiful 
honey, how terrible this change appears ! It is too 
sad — too dreadful ! " 

But after the first feeling of terror, her anxiety to 
find out something about Hum overcame every other 
consideration, and she alighted on the footboard. 
Tremblingly she approached a heap of bees — they 
were indeed dead ! — stifT, cold, and in many cases 
clogged with honey that had escaped when the hive 
was torn from its stand. 

But not all dead — not quite all. Here and there 
she saw a faint motion, as a bee gave a weary strug- 
gle with her legs, or moved her antennae. Hurrying 
from one to another, Buz came at last to a bee which 
had evidently crept into an empty cell to die ; and 
a thrill passed through her as she touched her an- 
tennae, and discovered the object of her search. 

Yes, it was indeed Hum ! and she was not too late 



I04 Buz. 

to say ^^good-by," for Hum recognized and feebly 
caressed her. 

'' Oh, Hum ! " cried Buz ; '' dear Hum ! What has 
happened ? What can I do for you, my poor dar- 
ling?" 

And she began to lick her with her tongue, and to 
stroke her softly. 

"Dear old Buz," whispered Hum faintly; **how 
good of you to come ! I shall die quite happy now, 
if you will stay with me for a little time — such a 
little time." 

" I will never leave you ! " cried Buz impetuously. 
'' Let me die with you, if you must die; but surely 
it isn't so bad as that. I can not bear to lose you. 
Let me get you some honey ; let me do something 
for you." 

''You can do nothing, dear; I am past eating; 
only come close to me. There ! I want nothing 
more now." 

*' But what has happened, Hum? My dear, dear 
Hum! Who can have been so cruel? Are you 
strong enough to tell me?" 

''I will try," answered Hum; "I should like you 
to know. Last evening I was out late, for I wanted 
to finish filling the very last cell there was to be 
filled. A shower of rain came on, and I crept into 



Death of Hum — Robbery — Restitution. 105 

a hole for shelter. This made me later still, and 
when I got back I found the entrance of the hive 
closed, and smoke coming out from every crevice. 
Two men were standing close by; the smoke made 
me feel sick and giddy ; presently the men pulled 
the hive from the board. Oh, Buz ! it was dreadful 
to see them shake out the dead bees in heaps. Some 
of the honey came out, and they pulled out the 
breeding comb. Only to think how many grubs, 
which would soon have become busy bees, have been 
destroyed ! Only to think how much honey they 
would have collected next spring! It is very, very 
sad. For myself, dear, I think I had done my work ; 
I am getting to feel quite old, and could hardly have 
expected to live through the winter. Ah ! " she 
continued more faintly, '' how long and cold the 
night has been ! I found this empty cell and crept 
into it, or I must have died hours ago. A few other 
bees, who, like me, had not returned before the hive 
was filled with smoke, were going about at first, but 
I have seen none moving lately. Where are you, 
Buz, dear ? Where are your antennae ? It is so dark 
and so cold." 

** I am quite, quite close to you, my poor Hum ! " 
said Buz. "Can't you see and feel me?" 

" No, no," answered Hum in a whisper ; " it is too 



io6 Buz, 

dark and cold for that. I am going, dear — I am 
going fast. You have been so often in my thoughts ; 
you make me so happy now. Good-by, dear ! good- 
by!*' 

As she ceased, a shiver convulsed her for a 
moment, her antennae quivered once more, and — her 
busy, useful life was over. 

For some time Buz remained by her side ; she 
could not bear to leave her friend ; but at last she 
flew sorrowfully away. 

** It would do poor Hum no good,*' she thought, 
" if I staid in that miserable place. What a sad 
story it is ! and how cruel ! Not only hundreds of 
bees, that have worked hard all their lives, are re- 
warded by thus being killed, but hundreds of grubs 
are prevented from ever doing the work they would 
have done so well. If I meet the wild bee again, I 
shall not have much to say. I begin to understand 
that there may be advantages in a hollow tree, after 
all." 

So saying, she went disconsolately home. 

But misfortunes never come singly, and Buz had 
hardly settled herself in a corner of the super, when 
she became aware, by a sudden commotion among the 
bees near the aperture which led down to the hive 
below, that something unusual was taking place. 



Death of Hu7n — Robbery — Restitution. 107 

Buz ran down the comb at once, and found a 
crowd of bees collected round the place where the 
aperture had been : there was no aperture now ! 

A zinc slide, worked from the outside, had been 
pushed across, cutting off all communication from 
below ; and a bee, who had been ascending at the 
time, had been caught and crushed to death. 

At this moment the covering of the super was 
removed, and a flood of light admitted. 

Then there was running and bustling indeed ! 
Every part of the glass was explored again and again, 
and each bee continually revisited the slide, in hopes 
of finding it removed. 

But no — they were completely cut off ! The only 
way out of the super had been through the hive be- 
low, and that way was closed. 

The bees grew very angry — particularly Buz ! 

''Ah, my fine fellow ! " said she to herself, as she 
ran up and down, looking through the glass at the 
gardener outside, ''just you wait till I'm out; I've 
something more than honey for you ! " 

The more angry and excited the bees became, 
however, the hotter grew the hive. 

Many of them began to fan violently ; but that 
did no good, because no cool air from the outside 
could be obtained. 



io8 Buz. 

*^ I shall be choked/* said a bee to Buz, as she 
passed her ; '' I know I shall.'' 

'' I shouldn't mind what happened to me after- 
ward," cried Buz, almost beside herself, *^ if I could 
go at that man, and make him run." 

It became hotter and hotter. 

The bees began to get frightened, and hardly 
knew what they did. 

Many of them went to the honey for consolation, 
and ate as fast as they could. 

Even Buz, in spite of her fury, couldn't help feeling 
anxious. 

The man outside now passed a thin, sharp knife 
between the edge of the super and the top of the 
hive on which it stood. He was obliged to do this, 
because the bees, when they first took possession of 
it, had cemented it down with a kind of resin. In 
spite of all his care, some little honey escaped, and 
one or two bees were injured. 

Now Buz, although she had determined to take no 
honey, found it impossible to keep her resolution 
when she saw it actually running at her feet, and, in 
a feverish excited way, she began to suck it up. 
This made her feel a little less spiteful, but she still 
kept her eyes on the enemy outside. 

The latter, having by this time loosened the super, 



Death of Hum — Robbery — Restitution, 109 

lifted up one side of it, and inserted a small wedge 
of wood, which gave the bees an opportunity of 
getting away. 

Some of them, being still frightened, darted ofT at 
once, and entered the hive as usual Others took a 
turn round, and then went back to the super, irre- 
sistibly attracted by the honey. 

But Buz, the instant she was free, flew as straight 
as she could and as hard as she could at the man's 
nose, meaning to give him the full benefit of her 
sting. What was her astonishment and indignation 
on finding herself stopped, when close to his face, by 
something soft and yielding, which she had not 
noticed at first, and which she could hardly see, even 
when close to him ! 

Again and again she flew at him — at his ears, his 
chin, his nose — and each time she was prevented 
from getting within stinging distance. The most 
provoking part of it was, that the man did not take 
the least notice of her efforts, or seem even to know 
that she was trying to drive him away. One 
or two other bees had joined Buz in her attack on 
him, but, as he was quite safe behind his veil, they 
at last left him alone, and even Buz gave it 
up. 

By this time the greater part of the bees had left 



no Buz. 

the super ; but a good many stragglers still remained, 
and feasted to excess on the honey. 

In order to get rid of these, the gardener removed 
the super to some little distance, turned it upside 
down, and with a soft feather gently dislodged 
them, and though it took him some time, he at 
length persuaded the very last bee to fly heavily 
home. 

Then he carried off the super in triumph. 

Buz, on meeting a friend near the entrance of the 
hive, eagerly talked the matter over. 

'' Here's a pretty thing ! '* she exclaimed. '* Were 
you up above when it happened ? " 

** No ; I was down here." 

** Why didn't you all come out and help, then,'' 
said Buz, ^' or do something ? " 

** We couldn't think what had happened ; we have 
only one way of getting up, you know, and we kept 
on trying that. How we did try, to be sure ! " 

^* Well," said Buz; *^ between us all, we managed 
it about as badly as we could. Of course you know 
they have taken away that beautiful honey ? " 

'' Yes, and very provoking it is ; still, it's a mercy 
we have so much here." 

** Yes, indeed," answered Buz ; '* things might be 
worse than they are, I suppose." For she remem- 



Death of Hum — Robbery — Restitution, 1 1 1 

bered what had happened to poor Hum, and to her 
old home, and felt that she had still something to 
be thankful for. 

Soon after this came a week of wet weather, 
and the bees were obliged to fall back on their 
stores. 

** I do wish,'* said a bee one day, who was working 
near Buz, '* that we hadn't lost all that honey. I 
declare I'm almost afraid to eat at all now." 

" We have enough to last for a long time, at any 
rate," replied Buz ; **and I have heard that' food is 
sometimes supplied." 

** Indeed ! " said the other. ** Who supplies 
it?" 

'*Ah!" replied Buz, with an important air — she 
was rather proud of being able to give information 
now, instead of, as formerly, always asking questions 
herself — " You will be surprised to hear that." 

** The only thing that surprises me is that any one 
should supply it." 

** I was told," said Buz, *' by a bee who had heard 
it from a very old friend of hers, that the man who 
stole the honey will very likely try to make up for 
it by giving us some other food." 

** That would be curious, I must say," admitted 
the other. *' I wonder why he does it. Perhaps," 



1 1 2 Buz. 

she added, '' he thinks we like it better than 
honey." 

*' Or, perhaps," answered Buz, with superior 
wisdom — it was a very young bee to whom she 
spoke — " he likes our honey better than the stuff he 
brings. Why, whatever is the matter with you?" 
she continued quickly, addressing a bee who had 
stopped, in passing, to rub her forelegs over her 
head, and to lick and clean herself. '^ You are all 
sticky and shiny, and there is such an odd smell 
about you." 

** I hardly know myself," was the reply ; *^ but 
something has happened up above, at the hole by 
which we used to get into the top part of the hive." 

** Something is always happening up there ! " 
cried Buz, pettishly. 

'' Now, keep your sting in ! " returned the other. 
'*As far as I can make out, there is no need to 
grumble ; though I got more than I want of what- 
ever it is, I can't say it's bad." She began to lick 
her forefeet again. 

*' I suppose," remarked Buz, ** you wish me to 
understand something; can't you explain? " 

'^ I know very little about it, I tell you," answered 
the other impatiently. ** I was standing close to 
where the hole used to be. when there was a sudden 



Death of Hum — Robbery — Restitution, 113 

movement, and the light came through. I was run- 
ning up to see what was going on, when something 
soft and sticky came down on top of me ; I was half- 
smothered for a moment, and could not get away. 
At last I crawled off, and now I'm cleaning myself. 
And I still say," she added, as she passed her feet 
over her head and antennae, ** that it's by no means 
bad stuff." 

Buz went at once to see what had happened. 
She found that the aperture, instead of being 
covered by the slide, was now filled up with a soft 
material, which bulged out in the middle, and was 
covered with drops of something sticky."^ 

Several bees were already sucking at these, and 
Buz followed their example. Whatever it might 
be, there was certainly no harm in it — it was sweet 
and pleasant to eat. 

" The best of it was, that as fast as the bees 
sucked up the drops, more were formed on the sur- 
face of the material ; but the latter was too thick 
to allow them to fall right through : they only hung 
on, ready to be sucked. 

'^ Come ! " said Buz ; ** if this is how they supply 

* A wide-necked bottle, containing a thick syrap of sugar and 
water, with a piece of flannel tied over the mouth, had been placed, 
inverted, over the hole. 



114 



Buz. 



us, we shall do very well : a capital notion, / call it, 
if they will only keep it going ! ** 

With this addition to their stores, the bees were 
able to look forward without apprehension to the 
long winter, which was so rapidly approaching. 




CHAPTER IX. 

CAUGHT IN A COBWEB. THE SPIDER'S PLAN. 



H E days now began to grow very 
short ; and when the rain fell, 
as it often did, it chilled the 
sodden ground, and was fol- 
lowed by cold, unhealthy fogs, 
instead of by the warm sweet 
smell that rises from the earth 
after a summer shower. The 
wind wailed dismally through 
the trees, stripping them of their many-colored 
leaves, and preparing them for rougher weather to 
come — as sailors take in canvas before the approach 
of a gale. 

The few flowers that were left, were fading 




1 1 6 Buz. 

quickly away, and the bees could hardly find enough 
honey for their own eating, during the short excur- 
sions they were able to make. 

But there were still occasions when the clouds 
were content to linger along the horizon, and let the 
sun take a peep at the world ; and although his rays 
were comparatively weak and watery, they were 
sometimes pleasant enough to tempt the bees out 
of their hive. 

Buz seldom neglected such opportunities, and 
was fond of exploring places which she hardly had 
time to notice during the busy season of the honey 
harvest. 

There was a pretty old cottage, with a thatched 
roof, standing a little way back from the lane lead- 
ing from the manor house to the village. 

It stood by itself, some way from any other habi- 
tation, and in front of it there was a little garden, 
beautifully kept. 

Buz had often visited it during the summer, and 
had always fancied that its flowers were particularly 
sweet and full of honey. No wonder if they were, 
for the poor old man who lived in the cottage was 
very fond of them. 

He kept them free from weeds, and watered them 
daily, in hot weather, with the sparkling water of a 



Caught in a Cobweb. 1 1 7 

little spring just across the lane, which was almost 
hidden by ferns and mosses, and which sent down a 
tiny rill, wandering through watercresses and marsh 
marigolds and long waving grasses, to join the merry 
mill-stream at the bottom of the hill. 

One day, Buz, after taking a sip of water at the 
spring, flew to the top of the little garden gate, and 
thence right into the cottage through the open 
window. 

This she did because her wings happened to carry 
her there. 

It was the first time she had ever entered a room ; 
and, after taking a turn round, the sight of so many 
things which were new to her caused her to feel 
nervous, and she made for the window. Unfortu- 
nately, however, there were two windows in the 
room, and Buz darted to the wrong one, which was 
shut ! Against this she flew at such a pace, that 
for a moment she was quite confused, and taking 
another turn, came back and bumped herself once 
more, though not quite so hard. 

Hard enough, however, to make her feel a little 
cross ; and so she buzzed noisily about, going over 
every pane several times — more slowly and carefully 
as she went up, but coming down again in a great 
hurry. 



1 1 8 B71Z, 

*' Well ! " said Buz to herself ; '' this ts a nasty 
jar ! I came in here — that I know for certain — and 
as I came in, I suppose I can get out. I wi// get 
out — I won't be sealed up like this ! " And in a 
sudden fit of impatience, she buzzed so fiercely 
against the window that she turned herself head 
over heels once or twice, and came to the bottom 
anyhow. 

There she remained for a moment, rubbing her 
antennae, and considering matters. 

Then off she went again, right up to the top of 
the window. 

*' I'll explore every corner," she said. ** I'll try 
over and over again ! I wi/l not be beaten ! 

rii " 

Here there was a most tremendous buzzing ; for, 
right up in one of the top corners, she was caught in 
a large and dusty cobweb ! 

Never in her life had Buz been so angry and 
indignant ! She lost all control over herself, and 
buzzed, and bit, and struggled, and felt all round 
for something to sting. 

There was nothing, however, but the soft, yield- 
ing cobweb ; and the more she struggled, the more 
it stuck! and the more she turned, the more it 
twisted ! and the more she rolled, the more it 



Caught in a Cobweb, 1 1 9 

wrapped round her ! and the angrier she got, the 
more aggravating it became ! 

At last she was quite exhausted, and lay still. 

Now when she had cooled down a little, she 
began to see that she had not gone the right way to 
work. 

'* How foolish of me ! " said she to herself. '' Just 
what a great drone might have done ! If I had 
taken it quietly at first, I might perhaps have got 
out ; but what will happen now, I can't think. 
What a fool I have made of myself, to be sure ! " 

'* Ho ! Ho ! '' cried a deep sarcastic voice close 
by. 

Buz looked round, startled, and saw a great big 
spider near her on the web. 

He was horrible to look at, with his cruel, blood- 
thirsty expression, but seemed perfectly composed, 
and fixed his wicked, hungry eyes steadily on Buz. 
For a moment the latter was quite paralyzed with 
fear, but, recovering a little, made some frantic 
efforts to free herself. These, however, were unsuc- 
cessful, and she again lay still, exhausted by her 
struggles. 

" Ho ! Ho ! '' cried the spider again. 

By this time Buz had recovered from her first 
shock of horror, and her blood was up. Besides, she 



1 20 Buz. 

felt quite a match for the spider, if it came to a 

fight. 

"' Is that all youVe got to say ? *' asked Buz scorn- 
fully. 

^^ Ho ! Ho!" repeated the spider, for the third 
time. 

He said it in such a cold-blooded manner, and 
seemed so triumphant and confident, that a thrill of 
horror again ran through her ; but, shaking off the 
feeling, she said : 

*^ I suppose you made this nasty web, didn't you ? " 

The spider answered never a word. 

** In any case," continued Buz, *^ you might as 
well unwind me. I'm not a poor fly, you know, 
that you can kill and eat. Besides, your web is all 
torn," continued she, as the spider sat without mov- 
ing or speaking — only watching; **and you'll have 
to mend it, you know, if you want to catch any thing. 
You can't mend it while I am here ; I'll take care 
of that ! " 

The spider neither moved nor spoke. This con- 
tinued silence disconcerted Buz very much, and 
made her feel dreadfully helpless ; but she presently 
continued as briskly as she could : 

"Come, come; I'm sure we can arrange matters 
in a sensible way, without any professions of friend- 



Caught in a Cobweb. 121 

ship. You want to mend your web ; very good. 
I'm not anxious to stay in it, and you can do noth- 
ing while I am here. Give me your assistance, then, 
and I will go quietly away without hurting you. 
Come, what do you say ? '* 

The spider partly opened his mouth, as if about 
to speak, but ended by saying nothing. 

His appearance, however, was so terrifying, and 
his fangs looked so cruel, that Buz could hardly 
prevent her voice from trembling as she continued, 
'* Have you any argument against what I propose? 
Tell me that, at any rate." 

The spider spoke at last, and as he slowly moved 
his jaws, his fangs swept round like scythes. 

** You are my prisoner,*' said he : " that's my argu- 
ment." 

He spoke with such contemptuous confidence, 
that Buz was struck dumb for the moment, and could 
think of nothing to say. 

''A good argument, too," continued the spider; 
" good enough for me." 

There was a long pause, during which Buz strug- 
gled hard to throw off the feeling of dismay which 
had crept over her. 

" At any rate," she said at last ; ** if I am unable 
to get out, you, on the other hand, dare not come 



122 Buz. 

near me ; so I don*t know which of us would get the 
worst of it in the end/* 

** I do/' returned the spider, ** and you will before 
longr 

He said this with such a sneer, that Buz's brave 
little spirit rose, and she answered quite sharply : 
**You seem very well satisfied with your own opinion, 
Mr. Spider ; but mine may be just as good — perhaps 
better. And I say that I can go quite as long with- 
out food as you can, and that you dare not come 
near me. No, you daren't, you brute ! " she con- 
tinued, as the spider again half opened his mouth 
without speaking. 

"You hungry-looking wretch!" she went on, ''if 
you were not afraid of me, you would have rushed 
upon me long ago, and dragged me into your den ; 
but you are afraid, you sneaking coward ! " 

" If I could only put him in a passion," she thought, 
'' so as to make him come at me, we might fight it 
fairly out, and I could bear whatever happened ; but 
to lie helplessly here is dreadful." 

'' My plan is " remarked the spider, after a 

long silence. *' By the way, would you like to know 
what it is ? " 

'' Not I ! " cried Buz disdainfully. '' What are 
your plans to me ? " 



Caught in a Cobweb, 123 

The spider said no more, but moving off to his 
den, which was close by, settled himself at the mouth 
of it, and remained perfectly motionless, with his eyes 
fixed on Buz. 

The latter was silent for some time, but although 
she tried to keep it out of her head, she could not 
help wondering what the spider's plan was. This 
thought returned again and again, and each time 
with greater strength, till at last it became a perfect 
torment to her. Several times she was on the point 
of asking, but just managed to prevent herself from 
doing so. 

At last she could restrain the inclination no 
longer, and said, though as defiantly as she could : 

" I might be able to show you the folly of your 
plan, as you call it ; so you had better tell me what 
it is, after all.'' 

'^ If you ask me as a favor, FU tell you,*' replied 
the spider; '' not else." 

"• Indeed, I shall ask no favor from you ! " cried 
Buz. 

The spider making no reply to this, there was a 
prolonged silence ; but at last, the feeling of anxiety 
to know the worst, overcame her pride, and Buz 
said more humbly, '* Well then, I ask you as a 
favor." 



1 24 Buz. 

" My plan is,*' said the spider, speaking very slowly 
and deliberately, *^ to do nothing yet myself, and to 
leave you to do what you can. It will answer very 
well, because you will soon get too weak for mischief, 
and then I shall kill you and suck you dry, and tear 
you limb from limb. That's my plan." 

*' Pray, how do you know," said Buz, *' that I 
shall get weak sooner than you ? " 

** How foolishly you talk !" replied the spider. 
" Why, you are nearly exhausted, and half choked 
already ; you are in a terrible fright, and well you 
may be, for you have nothing to look forward to 
but death. I am quite comfortable, even enjoying 
myself, watching you ; and I look forward to dinner : 
it makes a good deal of difference." 

Buz felt that this was only too true, and her heart 
began to fail her, brave as she was. 

" Besides," continued the spider, ** I dined well 
yesterday on a fat fly, whose wings you can see 
here at the mouth of my den, as you call it ; so I 
can easily wait for you. I shall not have to wait 
very long." 

Buz could not help trembling at these cruel words, 
and after a pause, she said, in a weaker voice, '* I 
suppose it would be in vain to appeal to your 
generosity — to your " 



Caught in a Cobweb. 125 

'* To my generosity ! '* interrupted the spider. 
'' Ho ! Ho ! That's good, that is ! Why, I have 
never, in all my life, granted an appeal, or a favor, 
and I never mean to. It is true," he continued, 
*^ that I told you my plan, as a favor ^ but I only did 
so in order to punish you for the ridiculous airs you 
gave yourself at first. The punishment has already 
begun, I see. I knew it would ! And you begged 
me to tell you as a favor ! That's good, that is ! 
Ho! Ho!" 

The malicious cruelty with which he spoke was 
enough to freeze her blood ; but even at that 
moment poor little Buz did not lose her pluck. 

** He shall not triumph over me, " she thought, 
'* more than I can possibly help. I will not say 
another word, nor attempt to move him to pity. 
Let the worst come to the worst, I can but die ! 
And if he ventures near me before I am quite gone, 
let him look out for himself! " 

So she remained perfectly still ; and the spider 
sat motionless at the mouth of his den, watching. 



CHAPTER X. 



BATTLE. 



VICTORY. 



DEATH. 



[IE nice tidy little old man who 
lived in the cottage, had a 
nice tidy little old wife. They 
had no children, and as he had 
earned good wages all his life 
at the mill down below in the 
village, they had put by a 
nice tidy little sum of money. 
Of this, the kind old people 
Tii,7-^-^ had promised to give twenty 

pounds to their nephew Jack, who was on the point 
of leaving the old country, and going off to seek his 
fortune as an emigrant. 

As it had been arranged that Jack should call for 
his money next day, the old man had been over to 




Battle — Victory — Death. 127 

the neighboring town to draw it out of the Savings 
bank ; and while poor Buz remained a prisoner in 
the cobweb, the old couple sat by the fire, counting 
out the yellow gold which it had taken them so long 
to collect, but which they were giving away with 
such ready generosity. 

It looked so bright and beautiful — quite tempt- 
ing ! 

Tempting ? Yes, indeed ; too tempting by far ! 

For as they were counting it over, a face appeared 
at the window outside. 

It was an evil face, deeply carved by many vices 
— drunkenness, cruelty, theft, and even bloodshed 
having stamped their ugly marks upon it. 

It was the face of a convict recently discharged 
from prison, who, coming to the cottage to see 
what he could pick up, was having a stealthy look 
round before knocking at the door. 

As his cruel, cunning eyes peered into the room, 
they suddenly caught sight of the money, which 
had been counted out on a small round table in 
front of the fire. 

The instant he saw it, he crouched down, hiding 
himself as well as he was able, and devouring the 
gold with hungry eyes. 

After a time, the old man took up the pieces one 



128 Buz. 

by one, and dropped them into a stocking, which he 
placed under the pillow of the bed. 

Directly the convict had seen where the stocking 
was hidden away, he dropped on his hands and 
knees, and crept to the garden gate, opening which 
as quietly as he could, he slunk out into the lane, 
and stole away unobserved. 

But before he had gone far he stopped, and 
clenching his hands, swore a horrible oath that he 
would have the gold that night, even if he did mur- 
der to obtain it. 

Meanwhile, the cruel spider was getting very hun- 
gry ; for when he told Buz that he had lately eaten 
a fat fly, he told her what was false. 

The fact is, he had eaten nothing for a very con- 
siderable time, and the wings he had pointed out 
were those of a miserable victim devoured long 
since. 

So now he was becoming impatient, and had twice 
left his den to see if Buz was yet weak enough to be 
attacked with impunity. 

On both occasions, however, she had seen his 
approach, and had made such a struggle to free her- 
self, that he had been frightened back. 

But the third time he came, Buz lay perfectly still, 
and to all appearance dead. Several times the spi- 



Battle — Victory — Death. 1 2 9 

der made ready to attack her, but each time his heart 
failed him. At last — desperate with hunger — he 
rushed upon her, and seizing her in his jaws, began to 
drag her toward his den, taking the greatest care not 
to put himself within reach of her sting. 

But Buz was not nearly so weak as he thought her, 
and had only remained quiet in order to deceive 
him. 

The moment, therefore, that he made his attack, 
she clung tightly to him with her forelegs to prevent 
his getting away. Then began a fearful struggle! 
The spider tried to hold her down with his terrible 
fangs, and to prevent her from twisting her body 
round ; and she, though weak and half-strangled, 
never lost heart, but battled bravely on, seeking for 
an opportunity. 

After some time, she managed to break one of the 
threads which held her, and then another, and at last, 
turning over with a great effort, she brought her 
body alongside the spider, and shooting out her 
sting sideways, she drove it fairly into him. 

The effect was instantaneous ! The spider let go 
his hold, and curled completely up ; then, as the 
poison took effect, his limbs again relaxed, and he 
lay dead, ulmost at the mouth of his own den. 

Dead ! where he had killed so many victims him- 



1 30 Buz. 

self. Dead ! where he had so lately mocked at Buz 
in her misery ! 

Just at this moment, the good wife, attracted by 
the sound of the struggle, during which Buz had 
made a sharp whirring with her wings, approached 
the window and called out to her husband, '* Well, 
to be sure ! if there isn't a poor little bee in a spi- 
der's web ! Come and look, John." 

'' So there be," said John, as he came up. 

"And only see, John, sheVe a killed the spider, I 
do declare ! " 

'' Well done ! " said John ; '* so she have, I see." 

'* Poor little crcetur! " said the old woman, as she 
released Buz with a feather, and put her on the win- 
dow-sill. 

For some time they watched Buz, who at first was 
too much exhausted to free herself from the web 
which still clung to her; but, gradually recovering 
her strength, and receiving occasional help from the 
feather, she was able to do so at last. 

^' There!" said the old man; 'Met her bide till 
to-morrow morning. The room is nice and warm, 
and 'tis too late to turn her out to-night." 

So they left her there, and drew the curtains, and 
put the kettle on, and had tea, and in due time went 
to bed. 



Battle — Victory — Death. 1 3 1 

Buz crept about a little to stretch her legs, and 
finally settled herself for the night on the handle of 
the lattice window. 

Ten o'clock sounded from the belfry of the old 
church down in the village — eleven o'clock — mid- 
night—and the old couple were sleeping soundly. 
But if they had been awake soon after midnight, 
they would have heard a stealthy, scraping sound ! 
What was it ? 

It was the convict, engaged in removing the lead 
round one of the panes of glass close to the handle 
of the window. The knife that he was using was 
curved, and strong, and sharp ; and in his hands, and 
close to the cruel face that was bending over the 
work, it had a murderous look. 

A hammer with a long handle, such as is used for 
breaking stones, stuck out from his coat pocket. 

He wore no mask — that was not necessary ; for if 
either of the old people woke when he was once in 
the room, there should be no one left alive to give 
evidence against him — he had quite made up his 
mind about that. And as he could hardly draw the 
stocking from under their very pillow without wak- 
ing them, he meant murder! 

Murder was plainly written on his scowling face, 
and expressed in every motion of his body. 



132 Buz. 

Oh ! for something to wake the old man, before it 
should be too late ! 

But he slept quietly on. 

And now the villain removed a small pane of 
glass, large enough to admit his hand ; he had only 
to open the window, climb into the room — and 
then 

But in turning the handle gently, he began squeez- 
ing Buz, who had settled there, and who, resenting 
such disturbance, planted her sting deeply in his 
thumb. With a dreadful oath, the man hastily 
withdrew his hand, but in so doing, swung violently 
open the window he had just unfastened. 

The latter, coming against a flower-pot standing 
on the window-ledge, threw it with a crash upon the 
ground. This woke the old man, who realizing 
what was going on, got out of bed as quickly as 
he could, seized the poker, and made for the win- 
dow. 

Startled by the sudden pain of the sting, the noise 
he had himself made, and the shouts of the old man, 
the would-be murderer hesitated what to do, and 
thus gave the former more time to get to the win- 
dow. 

Now, to strike down a poor old couple in bed, or 
to cut their throats, was one thing ; but to climb 



Battle — Victory — Death. 133 

through a window guarded by a man who, however 
old he might be, was armed with a stout poker, was 
quite another matter. 

On the whole, the cowardly ruffian thought it 
best to sneak away as quietly as possible, without 
letting his face be seen. 

But the old people went to sleep no more that 
night, and were very glad next day to hand over to 
nephew Jack the money that had so nearly cost them 
their lives. 

And Buz, brave Buz ! the instrument by which 
their lives had been saved, lay dead upon the ground 
outside the window ; for on feeling her sting, the 
man had given a sudden pressure of his thumb, 
which had killed her instantly. 

Perhaps it was as well after all. » 

She could not have withdrawn her barbed sting 
from the horny hand of the man, as she had from 
the soft body of the spider; and in losing their 
stings, bees always receive a fatal injury. 

She was therefore spared the pain of a lingering 
death. 

And even if she had returned to her hive without 
any adventure, she would probably have died before 
the sweet soft spring time came round again. The 
life of a bee is very short, and one born as Buz 



134 



Buz. 



was, early in the year, seldom survives the win- 
ter. 

So perhaps she could hardly have died at a better 
time. 

She had been useful all her life, and was useful 
even in her death. 




